Numerical Analysis of the Scholar Supersonic Combustor

The SCHOLAR scramjet experiment is the subject of an ongoing numerical investigation. The facility nozzle and combustor were solved separate and sequentially, with the exit conditions of the former used as inlet conditions for the latter. A baseline configuration for the numerical model was compared with the available experimental data. It was found that ignition-delay was underpredicted and fuel-plume penetration overpredicted, while the pressure rise was close to experimental values. In addition, grid-convergence by means of grid-sequencing could not be established. The effects of the different turbulence parameters were quantified. It was found that it was not possible to simultaneously predict the three main parameters of this flow: pressure-rise, ignition-delay, and fuel-plume penetration.