Injection, mixing and combustion under high-pressure conditions are key processes in modern energy conversion machines. Driven by the demand for higher efficiency and reduction of pollutants, intensive investments are made in recent years in the further development of especially two types of fuel-fired engines: liquid-propellant rocket engines (LREs) and gas engines (GEs). This arises from the fact, that LREs will remain an essential component for payload launchers in the foreseeable future and that GEs fired with hydrogen or natural gas are a possible solution to gradually diversify towards cleaner energy conversion machines. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can contribute to a better understanding of the injection, mixing and combustion processes within these types of engines. Here, especially one thermodynamic topic is of paramount interest within recent years: phase separation processes under initially supercritical conditions. This work presents a CFD tool that enables the thorough investigation of these processes. Both a pressure- and a density-based solver framework are introduced. The first comprises different formulations of the pressure equation to cover a wide range of Mach numbers. A double-flux scheme specifically tailored for real-gas flows is the core of the density-based solver. The thermodynamic framework relies on a rigorous and fully conservative description of the thermodynamic state. Cubic equations of state and the departure function concept form the basis of the thermal and caloric closure. Consequently, real-gas effects are included inherently. Multicomponent phase separation processes are considered by means of a minimization of the Gibbs energy. For the investigation of the non-premixed combustion process, a tabulated combustion model based on the flamelet concept is employed. Overall, measurement data from five different experimental test campaigns are used to validate the numerical framework. Both Large-Eddy Simulations and Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations are performed. Most of the simulations are conducted with the pressure-based framework. In the first step, real-gas effects in underexpanded jets are investigated. Very good agreement with experimental speed of sound measurements is found. Further investigations demonstrate the importance of the consideration of real-gas effects to correctly capture the jet mixing process. Next, the phase separation process in an underexpanded argon jet is studied. In the fully developed jet, the single-phase instabilities are found downstream of the nozzle exit and upstream of the Mach disk. This is in excellent agreement with experimental Mie scattering measurements. Next, the possibility of phase separation under GE-like operating conditions is investigated. Two different fuels - hydrogen- and methane-based - are considered. For the latter, pronounced phase separation processes are found which are triggered by a strong expansion and a mixing with the ambient gas. No two-phase effects occur in the hydrogen-based fuel as the critical temperature of the less volatile component is dramatically lower as in the methane-based fuel. For the investigation of phase separation processes under LRE-like operating conditions a combined experimental and numerical study together with the University of Stuttgart is conducted. Three different test cases are defined. The characteristics of the phase formation process agree well between experiments and simulations. The single-phase instability is caused solely by a mixing process of the injected fuel with the ambient gas. Next, the prediction capabilities of the pressure- and the density-based solver are assessed in detail. For the pressure-based approach a very good agreement with three experimental test cases is found. The density-based method, in contrast, yields possibly nonphysical states indicated by a strong entrainment into the two-phase region. Finally, phase separation effects in a hydrogen and a methane flame under LRE-typical operating conditions are studied. Single-phase instabilities are found on both sides of the flamelet caused by the low temperatures and the presence of water. For the methane flame, a Large-Eddy Simulation for a reference experiment is conducted. The results show that the region of phase separation is mostly restricted to the oxygen core. The OH* emission images indicate that both flame length and shape are in good agreement with the experimental results.    «

Injection, mixing and combustion under high-pressure conditions are key processes in modern energy conversion machines. Driven by the demand for higher efficiency and reduction of pollutants, intensive investments are made in recent years in the further development of especially two types of fuel-fired engines: liquid-propellant rocket engines (LREs) and gas engines (GEs). This arises from the fact, that LREs will remain an essential component for payload launchers in the foreseeable future and...    »