7.3.1. Overview and Limitations

Ansys Fluent has the following turbulence-chemistry interaction options for simulating combustors with detailed chemical kinetics:

  • Finite-Rate chemistry with no turbulence-chemistry interaction model (for laminar flows or for turbulent flows where turbulence-chemistry interaction may be neglected)

  • Eddy-Dissipation Concept (for turbulent flames)

  • Lagrangian Composition PDF Transport (for turbulent flames)

  • Eulerian Composition PDF Transport (for turbulent flames)

Using detailed chemistry is appropriate when modeling kinetically controlled phenomena, such as slowly forming product and pollutant species, as well as flame ignition and extinction. Comprehensive chemical mechanisms contain a multitude of intermediate species in addition to the major fuel, oxidizer, and product species. These intermediate species evolve at widely different reaction rates resulting in disparate species formation and destruction time-scales. The numerical time integration to accurately calculate the species evolution requires very small time substeps, called stiffness, and causes large computational run times. The chemistry acceleration tools in Ansys Fluent can mitigate this cost, but with some loss of accuracy. Care must be taken to set controlling parameters so that these inaccuracies are within acceptable limits.