Investigation of Hot Spot Migration in an Annular Combustor Using the SAS Turbulence Model

Unsteady simulations were performed to investigate hot spot migration in an annular recirculation combustor equipped with two different swirler configurations. The Scale-Adaptive Simulation (SAS) turbulence model was applied, using steady-state results as the initial condition. The simulations reveal that (1) in both configurations, high-temperature gases are divided into two regions by the high-velocity jets from the primary holes, forming a primary and a secondary recirculation zone; (2) with Swirler Configuration 1, the hot spot in the primary recirculation zone is more stable, and the hot spot temperature on the combustor liner is lower; (3) with Swirler Configuration 2, the hot spot exhibits a broader axial distribution, with higher temperatures on the wall of exhaust transition piece and at the outlet.