Detached eddy simulation of an adjustable radial ejector

Abstract

A high-performance Adjustable Radial Ejector (ARE) might be capable of achieving optimum performance over a wide range of operating conditions by changing the primary nozzle and ejector duct throat areas during operation by altering the separation of the disk-like surfaces. Previous results show that the simulations of a prototype radial ejector using a variety of RANS turbulence models have not achieved consistently good agreement with the experimental data across the range of ejector operating conditions. The present work describes new simulations of an ARE using Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) in ANSYS FLUENT in conjunction with the DES k-ω SST turbulence model. The influence of varying both the nozzle throat separation (d = 0.39, 0.49 and 0.59 mm) and the duct throat separation (D = 2.3, 2.6, 3.0 and 3.5 mm) on the performance of an ARE is assessed for different operating conditions. The results show that smaller nozzle separations increase the entrainment ratio, but decrease the critical back pressure. Larger duct separations do not always increase the entrainment ratio, but do always yield a lower critical back pressure