COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF FLOW IN AFTER BURNER DIFFUSER MIXER HAVING DIFFERENT SHAPES OF STRUTS

Abstract

In this paper, the subsonic flow analysis is carried out in a diffuser mixer with struts and without struts. The total pressure loss, pressure gain, essential flow properties like Mach number, velocity, static pressure, swirl are compared for both the cases. Analysis has been carried out using 45-degree sector model of the diffuser mixer without strut and with struts considering the periodicity of geometry. An unstructured grid has been generated and Simulation has been done using ANSYS FLUENT software, the flow has been simulated by solving the governing equation of mass, momentum, energy. Turbulence closure is achieved with the k-epsilon turbulence model with standard wall functions. The analysis has been carried out with velocity components, total pressure and total temperature at inlet boundary conditions and a mass flow rate at the outlet. The present study shows that the presence of the combination of both aerofoil and cylindrical struts gives a better increase in pressure in afterburner’s combustion section and also helps in guiding the flow.