Efficient Combustion Modeling Based on Tabkin ^® CFD Look-up Tables: A Case Study of a Lifted Diesel Spray Flame

This study demonstrates the use of Tabkin® to model auto-ignition, development and stabilization of a lifted n-heptane spray flame. An advanced combustion named Dacolt PSR+PDF model has been implemented in ANSYS® FLUENT®. This model is a mixture fraction/progress variable approach with presumed Probability Density Function (PDF) modeling of turbulence-chemistry interactions. N-heptane is used as a model fuel and a detailed chemical-kinetic mechanism is used to model the combustion chemistry. Tabkin is used to generate the look-up table for the Dacolt PSR+PDF combustion model. The results show that the basic physics of a lifted diesel spray flame, namely auto-ignition, flame development and flame stabilization, are well captured by the mixture fraction/progress variable modeling approach. Also, it is demonstrated that the working cycle of using an advanced combustion model with a complex chemistry look-up table is greatly simplified with the use of Tabkin. With Tabkin, advanced combustion models can be integrated in the CFD process in a robust manner and deployed to non-expert users in multi-site, multi-user industrial environments.