A theoretical study of compressible two phase internal flow

A numerical solution procedure has been developed for solving one phase, gas-only flow or fully coupled, gas-particle two phase flow in axisymmetric or two-dimensional geometries. The numerical basis of the present research is a time-dependent, unsplit, explicit, second-order accurate MacCormack finite difference scheme. Some special numerical techniques are developed to ensure numerical stability. The finite difference scheme has been used to solve the Navier-Stokes equations for the interior of the flow domain and an integral method is incorporated into this program to treat the turbulent boundary layer regimes. In order to evaluate the program, the results are compared to physical phenomena and evaluated on the basis of basic physical principles.

The purpose of the present work is to serve as a method for predicting both one and two phase flow in nozzles, especially those of solid fueled rocket motors. However, it is the primary objective of the present study to investigate the behavior of one and two phase flow passing through the combustor outlet, nozzle, and channel inlet of the Coal Fired Flow Facility, which is an MHD power generation system being developed at The University of Tennessee Space Institute for the United States Department of Energy. The results of the study indicate the level of gas-particle coupling in flow acceleration devices such as nozzles, and the differences that can be expected between two phase and single phase gas flows.