Supercritical combustion of liquid oxygen (LOX) and methane stabilized by a splitter plate

A systematic numerical analysis has been conducted to explore supercritical mixing and combustion dynamics of liquid oxygen and methane separated by a splitter plate. The unified theoretical/numerical frameworks for the treatment of general fluid thermodynamics have been extended to accommodate turbulence/flame interactions. Different turbulent combustion models have been implemented. The applicability of those models is carefully assessed by comparing the chemical time to the characteristic turbulence time scales. The results indicate that the flamelet assumption is valid and the combustion process is mixing dominant throughout the entire flowfield under the present simulation conditions. The direct -losure approach over-predicts the reaction rate and gives rise to a thickened flame. The flow dynamics and combustion process in the vicinity of the splitter plate are quantified. Simulations of both the flamelet model and direct-closure approach confirm that the flame is stabilized by the wake recirculation zone with hot product right behind the splitter plate.