Turbojet exhaust plume heat transfer

Exhaust jet plume heats up airframe surfaces during operations which may cause structural integrity and survivability issues. This paper presents the predictions of a real exhaust jet plume and its heat transfer onto the surface of a flat plate simulated by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) using Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) equations in SST k-omega turbulence model. By using the exit conditions of a jet engine throttle setting (maximum velocity magnitude 155 m/s and maximum temperature 672 oC), the expansion of the exhaust plume downstream from the nozzle exit was simulated in the CFD model. Velocity and temperature line profiles of the modelled exhaust plume were then compared to that of the experimental plume characterisation data to justify the plume prediction. The top surface temperature distribution of the CFD simulated flat plate was examined and was found to exhibit similar features to the flat plate in experiment. The CFD results were found to be able to predict the overall heat transfer coefficient of the convection of the exhaust plume onto a flat plate to within 7% error.