This document details original numerical studies performed by the author pertaining to the propellant oxidizer, ammonium perchlorate (AP). Detailed kinetic mechanisms have been utilized to model the combustion of the monopropellants AP and ADN, and a two-dimensional diffusion flame model has been developed to examine the flame structure above an AP/HTPB composite propellant. This work was part of an ongoing effort to develop theoretically based, a priori combustion models. The improved numerical model for AP combustion utilizes a “universal” gas-phase kinetic mechanism previously applied to combustion models of HMX, RDX, GAP, GAP/RDX, GAP/HMX, NG, BTTN, TMETN, GAP/BTTN, and GAP/RDX/BTTN. The universal kinetic mechanism has been expanded to include chlorine reactions, thus allowing the numerical modeling of AP. This is seen as a further step in developing a gas-phase kinetic mechanism capable of modeling various practical propellants. The new universal kinetic mechanism consists of 106 species and 611 reactions. Numerical results using this new mechanism provide excellent agreement with AP's burning rate, temperature sensitivity, and final species data. An extensive literature review has been conducted to extract experimental data and qualitative theories concerning ADN combustion. Based on the literature review, the first numerical model has also been developed for ADN that links the condensed and gas phases. The ADN model accurately predicts burning rates, temperature and species profiles, and other combustion characteristics of ADN at pressures below 20 atm. Proposed future work and modifications to the present model are suggested to account for ADN's unstable combustion at pressures between 20 and 100 atm. A two-dimensional model has been developed to study diffusion in composite propellant flames utilizing a vorticity formulation of the transport equations. This formulation allows for a more stable, robust, accurate, and faster solution method compared to the Navier-Stokes formulations of the equations. The model uses a detailed gas-phase kinetic mechanism consisting of 37 species and 127 reactions. Numerical studies have been performed to examine particle size, pressure, and formulation effects on the flame structure above an AP/HTPB propellant. The modeled flame structure was found to be qualitatively similar to the BDP model. Results were consistent with experimental observations. Three different combustion zones, based on particle size and pressure, were predicted: the AP monopropellant limit, the diffusion flame, and a premixed limit. Mechanistic insights are given into AP's unique combustion properties.

La Simulation aux Grandes Echelles (SGE) est de plus en plus utilisée dans les processus de développement et la conception des réacteurs aéronautiques industriels. L'une des raisons pour ce besoin résulte dans la capacité de la SGE à fournir des informations instantanées d'un écoulement turbulent augmentant la quantité des prédictions de la composition des gaz d'échappement. Ce manuscrit de thèse aborde deux sujets récurrents de la SGE. D'une part, les schémas numériques pour la SGE nécessitent certaines propriétés, notamment une précision élevée avec une diffusivité faible pour ne pas nuire aux modèles de turbulence. Afin de répondre à ce pré requis, une famille de schémas d'intégration temporelle d'ordre élevée est proposée, permettant de modifier la diffusion numérique du schéma. D'autre part, la SGE étant intrinsèquement instationnaire, elle est très consommatrice en temps CPU. De plus, une géométrie complexe prend beaucoup de temps de simulation même avec les super calculateurs d'aujourd'hui. Dans le cas particulier d'intérêt et souvent rencontré dans les applications industrielles, l'approche bas-Mach est constitue une alternative intéressante permettant de réduire le coût et le temps de retour d'une simulation LES. L'impact et la comparaison des formalismes compressible et incompressible sont toutefois rarement quantifiés, ce qui est proposé dans ce travail pour une configuration représentative d'un brûleur swirlé industriel mesuré au CORIA / Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) becomes a more and more demanded tool to improve the design of aero-engines. The main reason for this request stems from the constraints imposed on the next generation low-emission engines at the industrial development level and the ability for LES to provide information on the instantaneous turbulent flow field which greatly contributes to improving the prediction of mixing and combustion thereby offering an improved prediction of the exhaust emission. The work presented in this thesis discusses two recurring issues of LES. For one, numerical schemes for LES require certain properties, i.e. low-diffusion schemes of high order of accuracy so as not to interfere with the turbulence models. To meet this purpose in the context of fully unstructured solvers, a new family of high-order time-integration schemes is proposed. With this class of schemes, the diffusion implied by the numerical scheme become adjustable and built-in. Second, since fully unsteady by nature, LES is very consuming in terms of CPU time. Even with today's supercomputers complex problems require long simulation times. Due to the low flow velocities often occurring in industrial applications, the use of a low-Mach number solver seems suitable and can lead to large reductions in CPU time if comparable to fully compressible solvers. The impact of the incompressibility assumption and the different nature of the numerical algorithms are rarely discussed. To partly answer the question, detailed comparisons are proposed for an experimental swirled configuration representative of a real burner that is simulated by LES using a fully explicit compressible solver and an incompressible solution developed at CORIA

Ce travail de thèse est consacré à la modélisation et simulation numérique d'écoulements diphasiques liquide-gaz mettant en jeu des transferts de chaleur. La simulation de configurations où la prise en compte des effets de compressibilité de la phase gazeuse est indispensable (micropompes, microactionneurs, etc...) a nécessité l'utilisation d'un modèle original, considérant le liquide incompressible et le gaz compressible sous l'hypothèse faible Mach. Lors de cette thèse, ce modèle a été implémenté dans un code diphasique prenant en compte l'interface à l'aide d'une méthode de front-tracking. Des cas tests ont été développés spécifiquement afin de vérifier la conservation de l'énergie pour des configurations de complexité croissante. Les résultats des cas tests ont permis de mettre en évidence la difficulté à assurer la conservation de l'énergie lorsque l'interface n'est pas discontinue mais lissée, comme c'est le cas dans la méthode de front-tracking standard. Une méthode de traitement d'interface hybride a été proposée, rétablissant le caractère discontinu de l'interface avec la reconstruction d'une fonction indicatrice de phase échelon, tandis que le déplacement de l'interface est assuré d'un pas de temps à l'autre à l'aide du front-tracking. Les résultats obtenus avec cette nouvelle méthode hybride sont très satisfaisants, la méthode hybride permettant d'assurer la conservation de l'énergie et de la masse avec précision dans les simulations. / This thesis is devoted to the modeling and the numerical simulation of liquid-gas flows in non isothermal micro-cavities or micro-channels. The objective is to describe two-phase flows in which compressibility of the gaseous phase plays a key role (as for instance in micropumps, microactuators, etc...). An original model is developed, considering in the same computational domain, an incompressible liquid and a compressible gas under the low Mach approximation. This model has been implemented in a code using the front-tracking method for the interface description. In order to check the proper satisfaction of the energy balance, specific test cases have been developed considering several configurations of increasing complexity. It has been shown from these test cases that energy conservation can hardly be satisfied when the interface is described by the means of a smooth function, which is done in the front-tracking method. An hybrid method has been proposed, restoring the discontinous nature of the interface. It makes use of a step function combined with the front tracking method. Results obtained with this new hybrid method show that mass conservation and energy balance are very properly enforced during the computations. This thesis is devoted to the modelling and numerical simulation of liqui-gas flow envolving heat transfer. Simulation of configurations where it is essential to take into account the compressibility nature of the gaseous phase(for instance micropumps, microactuators, etc...) require the use of an original model, considering an incompressible liquid and a compressible gas under the low Mach assuption. During this thesis, the model has been implemented in a multiphase flow code using the front-tracking method to handle the interface. Test cases have been developped specifically to check the energy conservation for differents configurations of an increasing complexity. Numerical results highlighted difficulties encountered to ensure the energy conservation while using smooth description of the interface, as it is the case in the standard front-tracking method. An hybrid method has been proposed, restoring the discontinous character of the interface by reconstructing a step maker function, whereas the front displacement from a time step to the next, is still handled with the front-tracking. Results obtained using this new hybride method are very satisfactory, the hybrid method allowing the code to ensure accurately the energy and mass conservation during the computations.

O foco principal do presente trabalho é estender uma metodologia numérica embasada no uso de uma técnica de refinamento adaptativo de malha (AMR - Adaptive Mesh Refinement) e no uso de esquemas temporais multipasso implícitos-explícitos (IMEX) a aplicações envolvendo escoamentos reativos com baixo número de Mach. Originalmente desenvolvida para escoamentos incompressíveis, a formulação euleriana daquela metodologia emprega as equações de Navier-Stokes como modelo matemático para descrever a dinâmica do escoamento e o Método da Projeção, baseado no divergente nulo da velocidade do escoamento, para tratar o acoplamento pressão-velocidade presente na formulação com variáveis primitivas. Tal formulação euleriana original é estendida para acomodar novas equações agregadas ao modelo matemático da fase contínua: conservação de massa, fração de mistura (para representar as concentrações de combustível e oxidante), e energia. Além disso, uma equação termodinâmica de estado é integrada ao modelo matemático estendido e é empregada juntamente com a equação de conservação de massa para produzir uma nova restrição (não nula desta vez) ao divergente do campo de velocidade. Assume-se que o escoamento ocorre a baixo número de Mach (hipótese principal). O Método de Diferença Finita é empregado na discretização espacial das variáveis eulerianas de estado, empregando-se uma malha AMR. As vantagens e dificuldades desta extensão são cuidadosamente investigadas e reportadas. Pela importância, do ponto de vista de aplicações práticas, alguns estudos numéricos preliminares envolvendo escoamentos incompressíveis turbulentos com sprays são realizados (as gotículas compõem a fase dispersa). Num primeiro momento, apenas sprays com gotículas inertes são considerados. Embora ainda apenas iniciais, tais estudos já se mostram importantes pois identificam com clareza, em primeira instância, algumas das dificuldades inerentes a serem enfrentadas ao se tratar dentro desta nova metodologia um conjunto relativamente grande de gotículas lagrangianas. No caso de escoamentos incompressíveis turbulentos com sprays, a integração temporal se dá com métodos IMEX para a fase contínua e com o Método de Euler Modificado para a fase dispersa. A turbulência, em todos os casos que a envolvem, é tratada pelo modelo de Simulação das Grandes Escalas (LES - Large Eddy Simulation). As simulações computacionais se dão em um domínio tridimensional, um parelelepípedo, e empregam uma extensão (resultante do presente trabalho) do código AMR3D, um programa de computador sequencial implementado em Fortran90, oriundo de uma colaboração de longa data entre o IME-USP e o MFLab/FEMEC-UFU (Laboratório de Dinâmica de Fluidos da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia). O processamento foi efetuado no LabMAP (Laboratório da Matemática Aplicada do IME-USP). / It is the main goal of the present work to extend a numerical methodology based on both the use of an adaptive mesh refinement technique (AMR) and the use of a multistep, implicit-explicit time-step strategy (IMEX) to applications involving low Mach number reactive flows. Originally developed for incompressible flows, the Eulerian formulation of that methodology employs the Navier-Stokes equations to model the flow dynamics and the Projection Method, based on the vanishing divergence of the velocity field, to tackle the pressure-velocity coupling present when using primitive variables. That Eulerian formulation is extended by adding a new set of equations to the original mathematical model, describing the various properties of the continuous phase: mass conservation, mixture fraction (to represent concentrations of fuel and oxidizer) and energy. Also, a thermodynamic equation of state is included into the extended mathematical model which is employed, along with the equation for the conservation of mass, to derive a new restriction (this time, different from zero) to the divergence of the velocity field. It is assumed that one is dealing with a low Mach number flow (the main hipothesis). The discretization in space employs the Finite Difference Method for the Eulerian variables on a AMR mesh. Advantages and difficulties of such an extension of the previous methodology are carefully investigated and reported. For its importance in the real-world applications, few preliminary numerical studies involving incompressible turbulent flows with sprays are performed (the droplets form what it is called the dispersed phase). Only sprays formed by inert droplets are considered. Even though initial yet, such studies are most important because they clearly identify, first hand, certain difficulties in handling relatively large sets of Lagrangian droplets in the context of this new AMR methodology. In the context of turbulent incompressible flows with sprays, the overall time-step scheme is given by IMEX methods for the continuous phase and by the Improved Euler Method for the dispersed phase. In all the cases in which it is considered, turbulence is modeled by the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model. The computational simulations are held in a tridimensional domain given by a paralellepiped and all of them employ the extention (resulting of the present work) of the AMR3D code, a sequencial computer program implemented in Fortran90, whose origin is the collaborative work between IMEUSP and MFLab/FEMEC-UFU (Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Federal University of Uberlândia). Computations were performed at LabMAP (Applied Mathematics Laboratory at IME-USP).

Lors de sa rentrée dans l’atmosphère d’une planète, un engin spatial subit un échauffement important dû aux frottements des gaz atmosphériques sur la paroi. Cette élévation de température conduit à une dégradation physico-chimique du bouclier thermique de l’objet constitué de matériaux composites. Un composite est constitué de divers matériaux qui s’ablatent différemment. Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéressons essentiellement à la fusion d’un matériau durant sa phase de rentrée atmosphérique. Nous sommes donc en présence de trois phases : solide, liquide et gaz. Pour simuler ce phénomène, des méthodes numériques robustes ont été mises au point pour calculer l’écoulement diphasique compressible autour de l’objet. Le couplage entre le solide et l’écoulement fluide a aussi été étudié. Les méthodes numériques développées durant cette thèse sont basées sur une approche volumes finis. Une stratégie de décomposition d’opérateurs est utilisée pour résoudre le modèle diphasique à cinq équations avec les termes de dissipation modélisant l’écoulement fluide. L’idée principale de cette décomposition d’opérateurs est de séparer les phénomènes acoustiques et dissipatifs des phénomènes de transport. Un traitement implicite de l’étape acoustique est réalisé tandis que l’étape de transport est résolue explicitement. Le schéma semi-implicite global est alors très robuste, conservatif et préserve les discontinuités de contact. Les conditions d’interface entre les domaines fluide et solide sont déduites des bilans de masse et d’énergie à la paroi. Le front de fusion est suivi explicitement grâce à une formulation ALE des équations. La robustesse de l’approche et l’apport de la formulation semi-implicite sont finalement démontrés grâce à des expériences numériques mono et bidimensionnelles sur maillages curvilignes mobiles. / During atmospheric re-entry phase, a spacecraft undergoes a sudden increase of the temperature due to the friction of atmospheric gases. This rise drives to a physical-chemical degradation of the thermal protective system of the object made of composite material. A composite is made of several materials with ablates differently. In this thesis, we mainly focus on the melting of an object during its re-entry phase. Therefore there are three phases: solid, liquid and gas phases. In order to simulate this phenomenon, robust numerical methods have been developed to compute a compressible multiphase flow. The coupling strategy between the solid and the fluid have also been studied. Solvers developed in the present work are based on Finite Volume Method. A splitting strategy is used to compute compressible two-phase flows using the five-equation model with viscous and heat conduction effects. The main idea of the splitting is to separate the acoustic and dissipative phenomena from the transport one. An implicit treatment of the acoustic step is performed while the transport step is solved explicitly. The overall scheme resulting from this splitting operator strategy is very robust, conservative, and preserves contact discontinuities. The boundary interface condition between the solid and the multiphase flow is enforced by mass and energy balances at the wall. The melting front is tracked explicitly using an ALE formulation of the equations. The robustness of the approach and the interest of the semi-implicit formulation are demonstrated through numerical simulations in one and two dimensions on moving curvilinear grids.

Dans cette thèse on s’intéresse à la simulation numérique d’écoulements des matériaux compressibles, voir fluides et solides élastiques. Les matériaux considérés sont décrits avec un modèle monolithique eulérian, fermé avec une loi d’état hyperélastique qui considère les différents comportements des matériaux. On propose un nouveau schéma de relaxation qui résout les écoulements compressibles dans des différents régimes, avec des nombres de Mach très petits jusqu’à l’ordre 1. Le schéma a une formulation générale qui est la même pour tous le matériaux considérés, parce que il ne dépend pas directement de la loi d’état. Il se base sur une discrétisation complétement implicite, facile à implémenter grâce à la linéarité de l’opérateur de transport du système de relaxation. La discrétisation en espace est donnée par la combinaison de flux upwind et centrés, pour retrouver la correcte viscosité numérique dans les différents régimes. L’utilisation de mailles cartésiennes pour les cas 2D s’adapte bien à une parallélisation massive, qui permet de réduire drastiquement le temps de calcul. De plus, le schéma a été adapté pour la résolution sur des mailles quadtree, pour implémenter l’adaptativité de la maille avec des critères entropiques. La dernière partie de la thèse concerne la simulation numérique d’écoulements multi-matériaux. On a proposé une nouvelle méthode d’interface “sharp”, en dérivant les conditions d’équilibre en implicite. L’objectif est la résolution d’interfaces physiques dans des régimes faiblement compressibles et avec un nombre de Mach faible, donc les conditions multi-matériaux sont couplées au schéma implicite de relaxation. / In this thesis we are concerned with the numerical simulation of compressible materials flows, including gases, liquids and elastic solids. These materials are described by a monolithic Eulerian model of conservation laws, closed by an hyperelastic state law that includes the different behaviours of the considered materials. A novel implicit relaxation scheme to solve compressible flows at all speeds is proposed, with Mach numbers ranging from very small to the order of unity. The scheme is general and has the same formulation for all the considered materials, since a direct dependence on the state law is avoided via the relaxation. It is based on a fully implicit time discretization, easily implemented thanks to the linearity of the transport operator in the relaxation system. The spatial discretization is obtained by a combination of upwind and centered schemes in order to recover the correct numerical viscosity in different Mach regimes. The scheme is validated with one and two dimensional simulations of fluid flows and of deformations of compressible solids. We exploit the domain discretization through Cartesian grids, allowing for massively parallel computations (HPC) that drastically reduce the computational times on 2D test cases. Moreover, the scheme is adapted to the resolution on adaptive grids based on quadtrees, implementing adaptive mesh refinement techinques. The last part of the thesis is devoted to the numerical simulation of heterogeneous multi-material flows. A novel sharp interface method is proposed, with the derivation of implicit equilibrium conditions. The aim of the implicit framework is the solution of weakly compressible and low Mach flows, thus the proposed multi-material conditions are coupled with the implicit relaxation scheme that is solved in the bulk of the flow.

Quando ar escoa em regime transiente através do duto de admissão, câmaras e válvulas de um motor de combustão interna, alguns efeitos tais como atrito e forças inerciais têm influência direta sobre a eficiência volumétrica do sistema. O presente trabalho, intitulado “Estudo numérico do processo de admissão em um motor de combustão interna utilizando uma metodologia baseada na massa específica pré-condicionada para baixo número de Mach com comparação experimental”, estuda o processo de admissão em um motor de combustão interna simplificado e objetiva investigar o comportamento pulsante presente no duto de admissão e discutir as predições do escoamento através da válvula de admissão por meio da utilização inédita de uma metodologia numérica baseada na massa específica com précondicionamento para baixo número de Mach, incluindo a modelagem tridimensional do duto de admissão na simulação fluidodinâmica. O movimento da válvula de admissão origina números de Mach moderados durante sua abertura. Com o fechamento, o escoamento é restringido abruptamente e uma série de ondas de pressão se propaga através do fluido com baixo número de Mach. Embora a metodologia baseada na massa específica com précondicionamento para baixo número de Mach pareça atrativa, o estudo do escoamento em processos de admissão não tem sido realizado com a utilização desta metodologia, provavelmente por limitações impostas pela robustez e esforço computacional. De modo a verificar a solução numérica, os resultados são comparados a dados experimentais coletados em uma bancada de fluxo construída especificamente com este propósito. Os resultados numéricos mostram-se satisfatórios e diferentes aspectos do jato originado pelo movimento da válvula são expostos e discutidos. / When air flows unsteadily in an internal combustion engine through its inlet pipe, chambers and valves, some effects such as friction and inertial forces have direct influence on the volumetric efficiency of the system. The present work, titled “Numerical study of the intake process of an internal combustion engine using a low Mach preconditioned densitybased method with experimental comparison”, aims to investigate the pulsating phenomena present in an intake pipe of a simplified internal combustion engine and discuss the intake jet flow predictions through the inlet valve by means of the novel use of a low Mach preconditioned density-based method, including the three-dimensional modeling of the intake pipe in the fluid dynamic simulation. Inlet valve movement promotes moderate values of Mach numbers during its opening phase. After closing, the flow is abruptly restricted and a series of pressure waves propagate through the fluid at low Mach numbers. Although low Mach preconditioned density-based method seems to be very attractive in this case, the study of the intake flow process has not been performed using this method, probably due to robustness issues and simulation effort. In order to evaluate the numerical solution, these results are compared to experimental data collected from a flow test bench constructed specifically for this purpose. Numerical results were satisfactory for the amplitudes and the resonance frequencies in the air intake system and different aspects of the jet flow inside the cylinder are exposed and discussed.

Le contexte de cette étude est l’optimisation de la combustion turbulente prémélangée de syngaz pour la production propre d’énergie. Un brûleur CH4/air de type bec Bunsen avec forçage turbulent multi-échelles produit par un système de trois grilles, est simulé numériquement par différentes techniques de simulation des grandes échelles (SGE), et les résultats sont comparés à l’expérience. On a développé et appliqué une formulation bas-Mach du solveur Navier-Stokes basé sur différents schémas numériques, allant des différences finies centrées d’ordre 4 à des versions avancées des schémas WENO d’ordre 5. La méthodologie est évaluée sur une série de cas-tests classiques (flamme laminaire 1D prémélangée, turbulence homogène et isotrope en auto-amortissement), et sur des simulations 2D de la flamme turbulente prémélangée expérimentale. Les SGE implicites (ILES), i.e. sans aucune modélisation sous-maille, et explicites avec le modèle de flamme épaissie et un modèle de plissement sous-maille nouvellement élaboré (TFLES), sont appliquées à la simulation 3D du brûleur expérimental. Les résultats montrent que l’approche TFLES avec un schéma d’ordre élevé à faible dissipation numérique prédit correctement la longueur de la flamme et la densité de surface de flamme. La SGE implicite avec un schéma WENO avancé produit une flamme trop courte mais réaliste à condition que la taille de la maille soit de l’ordre de l’épaisseur de flamme laminaire. La représentation des interactions flamme/turbulence est néanmoins très différente entre TFLES et ILES. / The context of this study is the optimization of premixed turbulent combustion of syngas for clean energy production. A Bunsen-type CH4/air turbulent premixed burner with a multi-scale grid generator is simulated with different Large Eddy Simulation (LES) strategies and compared to experimental results. A low-Mach formulation of a compressible Navier-Stokes solver based on different numerical methods, ranging from 4th order central finite difference to 5th order advanced WENO schemes, is developed and applied. Classical test cases (1D laminar premixed flame, decaying HIT), and 2D simulations of the turbulent premixed flame are performed to assess the numerical methodology. Implicit LES (ILES), i.e. LES without any explicit subgrid modeling, and explicit LES with the Thickened Flame model and subgrid scale flame wrinkling modelling (TFLES) are applied to simulate numerically the 3D experimental burner. Results show that TFLES with a high-order low dissipation scheme predicts quite well the experimental flame length and flame surface density. ILES with advanced WENO schemes produces a slightly shorter although realistic flame provided the grid spacing is of order of the laminar flame thickness. The representation of flame/turbulence interactions in TFLES and ILES are however quite different.

Quando ar escoa em regime transiente através do duto de admissão, câmaras e válvulas de um motor de combustão interna, alguns efeitos tais como atrito e forças inerciais têm influência direta sobre a eficiência volumétrica do sistema. O presente trabalho, intitulado “Estudo numérico do processo de admissão em um motor de combustão interna utilizando uma metodologia baseada na massa específica pré-condicionada para baixo número de Mach com comparação experimental”, estuda o processo de admissão em um motor de combustão interna simplificado e objetiva investigar o comportamento pulsante presente no duto de admissão e discutir as predições do escoamento através da válvula de admissão por meio da utilização inédita de uma metodologia numérica baseada na massa específica com précondicionamento para baixo número de Mach, incluindo a modelagem tridimensional do duto de admissão na simulação fluidodinâmica. O movimento da válvula de admissão origina números de Mach moderados durante sua abertura. Com o fechamento, o escoamento é restringido abruptamente e uma série de ondas de pressão se propaga através do fluido com baixo número de Mach. Embora a metodologia baseada na massa específica com précondicionamento para baixo número de Mach pareça atrativa, o estudo do escoamento em processos de admissão não tem sido realizado com a utilização desta metodologia, provavelmente por limitações impostas pela robustez e esforço computacional. De modo a verificar a solução numérica, os resultados são comparados a dados experimentais coletados em uma bancada de fluxo construída especificamente com este propósito. Os resultados numéricos mostram-se satisfatórios e diferentes aspectos do jato originado pelo movimento da válvula são expostos e discutidos. / When air flows unsteadily in an internal combustion engine through its inlet pipe, chambers and valves, some effects such as friction and inertial forces have direct influence on the volumetric efficiency of the system. The present work, titled “Numerical study of the intake process of an internal combustion engine using a low Mach preconditioned densitybased method with experimental comparison”, aims to investigate the pulsating phenomena present in an intake pipe of a simplified internal combustion engine and discuss the intake jet flow predictions through the inlet valve by means of the novel use of a low Mach preconditioned density-based method, including the three-dimensional modeling of the intake pipe in the fluid dynamic simulation. Inlet valve movement promotes moderate values of Mach numbers during its opening phase. After closing, the flow is abruptly restricted and a series of pressure waves propagate through the fluid at low Mach numbers. Although low Mach preconditioned density-based method seems to be very attractive in this case, the study of the intake flow process has not been performed using this method, probably due to robustness issues and simulation effort. In order to evaluate the numerical solution, these results are compared to experimental data collected from a flow test bench constructed specifically for this purpose. Numerical results were satisfactory for the amplitudes and the resonance frequencies in the air intake system and different aspects of the jet flow inside the cylinder are exposed and discussed.

Quando ar escoa em regime transiente através do duto de admissão, câmaras e válvulas de um motor de combustão interna, alguns efeitos tais como atrito e forças inerciais têm influência direta sobre a eficiência volumétrica do sistema. O presente trabalho, intitulado “Estudo numérico do processo de admissão em um motor de combustão interna utilizando uma metodologia baseada na massa específica pré-condicionada para baixo número de Mach com comparação experimental”, estuda o processo de admissão em um motor de combustão interna simplificado e objetiva investigar o comportamento pulsante presente no duto de admissão e discutir as predições do escoamento através da válvula de admissão por meio da utilização inédita de uma metodologia numérica baseada na massa específica com précondicionamento para baixo número de Mach, incluindo a modelagem tridimensional do duto de admissão na simulação fluidodinâmica. O movimento da válvula de admissão origina números de Mach moderados durante sua abertura. Com o fechamento, o escoamento é restringido abruptamente e uma série de ondas de pressão se propaga através do fluido com baixo número de Mach. Embora a metodologia baseada na massa específica com précondicionamento para baixo número de Mach pareça atrativa, o estudo do escoamento em processos de admissão não tem sido realizado com a utilização desta metodologia, provavelmente por limitações impostas pela robustez e esforço computacional. De modo a verificar a solução numérica, os resultados são comparados a dados experimentais coletados em uma bancada de fluxo construída especificamente com este propósito. Os resultados numéricos mostram-se satisfatórios e diferentes aspectos do jato originado pelo movimento da válvula são expostos e discutidos. / When air flows unsteadily in an internal combustion engine through its inlet pipe, chambers and valves, some effects such as friction and inertial forces have direct influence on the volumetric efficiency of the system. The present work, titled “Numerical study of the intake process of an internal combustion engine using a low Mach preconditioned densitybased method with experimental comparison”, aims to investigate the pulsating phenomena present in an intake pipe of a simplified internal combustion engine and discuss the intake jet flow predictions through the inlet valve by means of the novel use of a low Mach preconditioned density-based method, including the three-dimensional modeling of the intake pipe in the fluid dynamic simulation. Inlet valve movement promotes moderate values of Mach numbers during its opening phase. After closing, the flow is abruptly restricted and a series of pressure waves propagate through the fluid at low Mach numbers. Although low Mach preconditioned density-based method seems to be very attractive in this case, the study of the intake flow process has not been performed using this method, probably due to robustness issues and simulation effort. In order to evaluate the numerical solution, these results are compared to experimental data collected from a flow test bench constructed specifically for this purpose. Numerical results were satisfactory for the amplitudes and the resonance frequencies in the air intake system and different aspects of the jet flow inside the cylinder are exposed and discussed.