A numerical study on the effects of side-inlet angle on the mixing phenomena in a three-dimensional side-dump combustor

The effects of side-inlet angle on fuel/air mixing phenomena in a three-dimensional side-dump combustor with dual opposite curved side-inlet ducts are numerically investigated in the present paper. The integral computational domain, including side-inlet ducts as well as the cylindrical combustion chamber itself, are used to resolve the complete flow fields. The side-inlet angle is varied as 30°, 60° and 90° to examine its effects on the flow fields and fuel/air mixing phenomena. The results exhibit that the important flow features in the side-dump combustor, including the recirculation structures and secondary flow motions, are all significantly influenced by the side-inlet angle. The effects of side-inlet angle on the fuel distributions in the side-inlet duct and cylindrical combustion chamber are also presented in the current study, which provides worthwhile information for the combustor design work.