Numerical investigations on the performance of a multistrut hydrogen injector in a scramjet combustor

This study aims at investigating the effect of a multistrut-based hydrogen injector in a scramjet combustor underreacting case. The numerical analysis is carried out using two-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations with the Shear Stress Transport k − ω turbulence model in contention to comprehend the flow physics during scramjet combustion. The three major parameters, such as the shock wave pattern, wall pressures, and static temperature across the combustor, are validated with the reported experimental results. The results comply with the range, indicating that the adopted simulation method for single strut injection can be extended for other investigations. It is noticed that with multistrut injectors, as hydrogen jet pressure increases in the supersonic flow field, the jet penetration rate in the lateral direction of the flow and the total pressure loss as compared with the baseline injection pressure conditions has increased. The supersonic flow characteristics are determined based on the flow properties, combustion efficiency, mixing efficiency, and total pressure loss. Compared with the single-strut output of a scramjet combustor, multistruts inclusion increased the combustion efficiency by almost 18%, the mixing efficiency attained the maximum with 16% fewer lengths. The total pressure loss in single-strut is 14% lower than that of multistrut.