Comparison of state-of-the-art droplet turbulence interaction models for jet engine combustor conditions

The objective of this paper is to assess three state-of-the-art Lagrangian droplet turbulence interaction models for jet engine combustor operating co nditions. The models can be distinguished by their underlying temporal auto correlation function of the gaseous velocity fluctuations seen by a droplet . Two generic experiments and one realistic test case were used for validat ion of the models. The analysis of single particle dispersion revealed poor accuracy of the model proposed by Gosman and Ioannides at small Stokes num bers and high relative velocities. The models of Milojevic and of Blumcke g ave good agreement with the experimental data. Furthermore, the accuracy of the three models in predicting real polydisperse combustor sprays was stud ied. It is concluded that the droplet turbulence model does not affect sign ificantly the overall combustor prediction. Finally, characteristic paramet ers describing monodisperse particle dispersion have been extracted by a nu merical study based on the model of Blumcke covering a wide range of combus tor operation conditions. These parameters are compared to analytical resul ts of Wang et al. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.