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Effects of Confinement and Reynolds Number Variation on the Flow Field of Swirling Jets

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Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Fluid, Thermal and Energy Systems (ICFTES 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering ((LNME))

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Abstract

Swirling jets are commonly used in the burners of gas turbines to enhance mixing or to stabilize the flames. In this manuscript, a stereo (3C2D) particle image velocimetry (SPIV) was applied to examine the near exit region of an isothermal swirling jet inside an octagonal-shaped combustion chamber with a focus on the effects of confinement and Reynolds number (Re) variation on the swirling flow field. Measurements were performed on an axial plus tangential entry swirl burner with a geometric swirl number (Sg) of 1.8 and two different Re, corresponding to 10,900 and 21,800. The results observed in our experimental work are scaled appropriately with the swirl number based on the flux of the axial momentum. The contours of the mean axial velocity field reveal the occurrence of vortex breakdown (VB) for the confined jets compared to the unconfined jets for both Reynolds numbers. Upon confinement, the flow field is dominated by the existence of VB with a wider central recirculation zone (CRZ) and with enhanced axial velocity fluctuations. The enhancement in the Re further increased the CRZ and enhanced the magnitudes of the mean axial velocity and its fluctuations. The outcome obtained from these results includes a better knowledge of the swirl jet in the swirl burner's near region. In addition, the experimental data can be useful for validating computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling.

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Abbreviations

ATSB:

Axial plus tangential entry swirl burner

At:

Total area of tangential air inlets

CC:

Combustion chamber

CoRZ:

Corner Recirculation zone

CRZ:

Central Recirculation zone

D:

Nozzle diameter

Gz:

Axial flux of axial momentum

Gθ:

Axial flux of angular momentum

IRZ:

Inner Recirculation zone

\(\dot{m}\):

Mass flow rate

\({\dot{m}}_{axial}\):

Mass flow rate of axial air inlet

\({\dot{m}}_{tangential}\):

Mass flow rate of tangential air inlet

PIV:

Particle image velocimetry

PVC:

Precessing vortex core

R:

Nozzle radius

Ro:

Radial distance of tangential inlets

frr,z.y:

Coordinates

RB:

Recirculation bubble

Re:

Reynolds number

S:

Swirl number

Scr:

Critical swirl number

Sg:

Geometric swirl number

SJ:

Swirling Jet

SP:

Stagnation Point

SR:

Split ratio

U:

Mean Axial velocity

u':

Axial velocity fluctuation

Ubulk:

Bulk velocity

V:

Mean radial velocity

v':

Radial velocity fluctuation

VB:

Vortex breakdown

W:

Mean tangential velocity

w':

Tangential velocity fluctuation

ρ:

Density of air

µ:

Dynamic viscosity of air

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Prof. Aldo Coghe for the fruitful discussion and invaluable assistance in carrying out the experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, VIT Bhopal University, 466114, Bhopal, India

    Rohit Sharma

  2. Department of Energy, Politecnico Di Milano, 20156, Milano, Italy

    Fabio Cozzi

Authors
  1. Rohit Sharma
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  2. Fabio Cozzi
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Correspondence to Rohit Sharma .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Calicut, Calicut, Kerala, India

    Sudev Das

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

    Narasimha Mangadoddy

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa

    Jaap Hoffmann

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Sharma, R., Cozzi, F. (2024). Effects of Confinement and Reynolds Number Variation on the Flow Field of Swirling Jets. In: Das, S., Mangadoddy, N., Hoffmann, J. (eds) Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Fluid, Thermal and Energy Systems . ICFTES 2022. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5990-7_63

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5990-7_63

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  • Online ISBN: 978-981-99-5990-7

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