CFD-Analysis of Conjugate Effects of Turbulence and Swirl Intensity on Spray Combustion in a Single Gas Turbine Combustor

On the basis of an Euler-Lagrangian approach, two examples of CFD analysis of the spray evolution in single gas turbine combustors are investigated to highlight the effects of two of the major controlling factors of the gas turbine combustion. The first example deals with the effects of turbulence properties on droplet dispersion, vaporization and mixing of a non-reacting spray. The second example includes the swirl intensity effects and focuses on the conjugate spray combustion. In contrast to existing works, advanced models for turbulence, evaporation and modulation are combined. The results reveal that 1) an agreement with experiments is better achieved with the non-equilibrium evaporation model; 2) the turbulence intensity influences the efficiency of the droplet interface transport; 3) an increase in swirl degree enhances obviously the mixing rate; 4) from both effects the mixing of gaseous fuel and air is confirmed to become a controlling process of combustion.