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2025 Vol.5, Issue 2

Research Article

Thermal Environment Analysis of a Scramjet Combustor based on pseudo-Conjugate Heat Transfer Analysis with Combustion
Seung-Min Jeonga
,
Kyungjae Leea*
,
Inyoung Yanga
,
Sanghoon Leea
,
Yang Ji Leea
,
Jae-Eun Kimb
,
Jeong-Yeol Choib
aFuture Aeropropulsion Research Team, Korea Aerospace Research Institute, Daejeon 34133, Korea
bDepartment of Aerospace Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
*Corresponding Author
30 November 2025. pp. 1-16
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Abstract

In this study, a conjugated heat transfer (CHT) analysis was performed to investigate the thermal environment characteristics of heat exchangers and the structure in a scramjet combustor. The combustor model was a kerosene-fueled tandem cavity scramjet combustor with a heat exchanger installed on both the upper and lower panels. A pseudo-CHT (p-CHT) analysis algorithm was proposed, decoupling the combustion simulation for the flow field and the heat transfer analysis for the solid structure to account for the ground combustion test time, which is on the order of tens of seconds. Combustion simulation was conducted based on the Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES) turbulence model, applying a global chemical reaction mechanism for surrogate kerosene. Wall temperature data obtained from the combustion simulation were utilized as boundary conditions for heat flux in the p-CHT analysis, and data for approximately 60 seconds were acquired. In the p-CHT analysis, the heat flux was concentrated on the rear wall region of the first cavity on the upper panel, revealing a maximum temperature distribution of approximately 1,040 K. On the lower panel, a comparatively lower heat flux was concentrated, yielding a maximum temperature peak of approximately 850 K. The temperature gradient between the upper and lower panels indicates the potential for structural stability concerns in the heat exchanger and jacket. And the location of the maximum temperature derived from the p-CHT analysis did not coincide with that from the combustion simulation. These findings suggest that the structural thermal environment is generated through the coupling of flame structure and combustor geometry conditions. Through these series of results, it was found that the proposed p-CHT analysis algorithm is capable of conducting conjugated heat transfer analysis for durations of tens of seconds with notably low computational cost.

Keywords
Scramjet Combustor
Conjugate Heat Transfer analysis
Thermal Environment
Kerosene Injection
Turbulent-Combustion Numerical Simulation
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Information
  • Publisher :The Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국추진공학회
  • Journal Title :Journal of Propulsion and Energy
  • Journal Title(Ko) :Free Open Access International Journal on Propulsion and Energy Science and Technology
  • Volume : 5
  • No :2
  • Pages :1-16
  • Received Date : 2025-03-05
  • Revised Date : 2025-05-26
  • Accepted Date : 2025-07-11
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.6108/JPNE.2025.5.2.001
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