Combustion Simulation

Combustion simulation is one of the most complex areas of flow simulation. The fuel can be anything combustible from natural gas to gasoline to coal or wood. The burning of kerosene involves over 400 chemical reactions. The fuel may be mixed with the oxidant and then burnt (pre-mixed flame) or the fuel and the oxidant may be fed into the combustion chamber separately so that burning occurs where the two streams meet (diffusion flame). Liquid and solid fuels must produce combustible gases which will then burn. The chemical reactions may be fast or slow compared with the rate of turbulent mixing. Fast reaction chemistry can often lead to simplifications in the modelling. Heat transfer by radiation may be significant if the flame is laden with soot particles. As may be imagined, modern CFD programs contain a bewildering array of options to deal with all of this complexity.

At Atkinson Science we have been modelling combustion from the time when CFD software existed only in research laboratories. We are particularly expert in the modelling of gas and liquid-fuelled flames given our history in the gas-turbine industry and with propulsion systems for subsonic and supersonic air vehicles. Click on the links below to read some of our case studies or contact us if you would like to discuss a problem involving combustion. Contact us.