An Accurate Performance Prediction of Solid Fuel Ramjets Using Coupled Intake-Combustor-Nozzle Simulation

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 933-941
Author(s):  
A. M. Tahsini

ABSTRACTThe performance of the solid fuel ramjet is accurately predicted using full part simulation of this propulsion system, where the flow fields of the intake, combustion chamber, and the nozzle are numerically studied all together. The conjugate heat transfer is considered between the solid phase and the gas phase to directly compute the regression rate of the fuel. The finite volume solver of the compressible turbulent reacting flow is utilized to study the axisymmetric three dimensional flow fields, and two blocks are used to discretize the computational domain. It is shown that the combustion chamber's pressure is changed due to the fuel flow rate's increment which must be taken into account in predictions. The results demonstrate that omitting the pressure dependence of the regression rate and also the effect of the combustor's inlet profile on the regression rate, which specially exists when simulating the combustion chamber individually, under-predicts the solid fuel burning rate when the regression rate augmentation technique is applied to improve the performance of the solid fuel ramjets. It is also illustrated that using the inlet swirl to increase the regression rate of the solid fuel augments considerably the thrust level of the considered SFRJ, while the predictions without considering all parts of the ramjet is not accurate.

Aerospace ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 190
Author(s):  
Francesco Barato

Ablative-cooled hybrid rockets could potentially combine a similar versatility of a liquid propulsion system with a much simplified architecture. These characteristics make this kind of propulsion attractive, among others, for applications such as satellites and upper stages. In this paper, the use of hybrid rockets for those situations is reviewed. It is shown that, for a competitive implementation, several challenges need to be addressed, which are not the general ones often discussed in the hybrid literature. In particular, the optimal thrust to burning time ratio, which is often relatively low in liquid engines, has a deep impact on the grain geometry, that, in turn, must comply some constrains. The regression rate sometime needs to be tailored in order to avoid unreasonable grain shapes, with the consequence that the dimensional trends start to follow some sort of counter-intuitive behavior. The length to diameter ratio of the hybrid combustion chamber imposes some packaging issues in order to compact the whole propulsion system. Finally, the heat soak-back during long off phases between multiple burns could compromise the integrity of the case and of the solid fuel. Therefore, if the advantages of hybrid propulsion are to be exploited, the aspects mentioned in this paper shall be carefully considered and properly faced.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
AmirMahdi Tahsini

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of pressure fluctuations on the combustion efficiency of the hydrogen fuel injected into the supersonic oxidizing cross flow. The pressure fluctuations are imposed on inlet air flow and also on the fuel flow stream. Two different situations are considered: the combustion chamber once without and again with the inlet standing oblique shock wave. Design/methodology/approach The pressure fluctuations are imposed on inlet air flow and also on the fuel flow stream. Two different situations are considered: the combustion chamber once without and again with the inlet standing oblique shock wave. The unsteady turbulent reacting flow solver is developed to simulate the supersonic flow field in the combustion chamber with detail chemical kinetics, to predict the time-variation of the combustion efficiency due to the imposed pressure fluctuations. Findings The results show that the response of the reacting flow field depends on both the frequency of fluctuations and the existence of the inlet shock wave. In addition, the inlet standing shock wave has some attenuating role, but the reacting flow shows an amplifying role on imposed oscillations which is also augmented by imposing anti-phase fluctuations on both inlet and fuel flow streams. Originality/value This study is performed to analyze the instabilities in the supersonic combustion which has not been considered before in this manner.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weixuan Li ◽  
Xiong Chen ◽  
Wenxiang Cai ◽  
Omer Musa

In this paper, the effect of sudden expansion ratio of solid fuel ramjet (SFRJ) combustor is numerically investigated with swirl flow. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code is written in FORTRAN to simulate the combustion and flow patterns in the combustion chamber. The connected-pipe facility is used to perform the experiment with swirl, and high-density Polyethylene (HDPE) is used as the solid fuel. The investigation is performed with different sudden expansion ratios, in which the port and inlet diameters are independently varied. The results indicated that the self-sustained combustion of the SFRJ occurs around the reattachment point at first, and then the heat released in reattachment point is used to achieve the self-sustained combustion in the redevelopment zone. The average regression rate is proportional to the sudden expansion ratio for the cases with a fixed port diameter, which is mainly dominated by the enhancement of heat transfer in backward-facing step. However, the average regression rate is inversely proportional to the sudden expansion ratio for the cases with fixed inlet diameter, which is influenced by the heat transfer mechanism of developed turbulent flow in the redevelopment zone.


Author(s):  
Cal Rising ◽  
Jonathan Reyes ◽  
Kareem Ahmed

Abstract Tomographic particle image velocimetry (Tomo-PIV) has become a standard tool for capturing a three-dimensional velocity fields in non-reacting flows. However, the diagnostic approach can become costly and challenging to implement when extended to applications which require high-speed cameras. This limitation has led to the use of fiber wound bundles to allow for multiple views to be captured on a single camera sensor. Additionally, employing this diagnostic approach on reacting flow fields becomes more complex as the introduction of the flame causes additional luminosity and optical distortion which impacts the particle field reconstruction. The current work seeks to validate and determine the limitations when utilizing a single sensor fiber coupled approach for capturing Tomo-PIV data on a reacting flow-field. A premixed propane (C3H8) and air Bunsen burner flame is utilized to examine if the single sensor approach can meet the parameters for acceptable reconstruction based on previous research. The resulting velocity fields are then compared to a traditional PIV measurement to assess the deviation of the single sensor approach from a standard velocimetry measurement approach. It is demonstrated that there is strong agreement between the velocity and vorticity for the average flow-fields, however when comparing the Reynolds Shear Stresses a significant deviation is revealed. The deviation is attributed to strong velocity fluctuations occurring within the instantaneous Tomo-PIV data, which creates a significant divergence between the measurement techniques on an instantaneous basis. This demonstrates that while the approach can obtain reliable velocity and vorticity statistics, there is significant limitations in calculating second-order turbulence statistics. Thus, revealing that there is a tradeoff between the ability to extract the full velocity gradient tensor and the extent of the turbulence related analysis which can be reliably performed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro M. Briones ◽  
Scott D. Stouffer ◽  
Konstantinos Vogiatzis ◽  
Keith Rein ◽  
Brent A. Rankin

The effects of effusion and film cooling momenta on combustor flow fields are investigated. Steady, compressible three-dimensional (3D) simulations are performed on a single-swirler combustor using Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) with flamelet generated manifold and Lagrangian–Eulerian multiphase spray, while accounting for dome and liner cooling. Two simulations are performed on the same mesh. One simulation is conducted using a parallelized, automated, predictive, imprint cooling (PAPRICO) model with dynamic flux boundary conditions and downstream pressure probing (DFBC-DPP). PAPRICO involves removing the cooling jet geometry from the dome and liner while retaining the cooling hole imprints. The PAPRICO model does not require a priori knowledge of the cooling flow rates through various combustor liner regions nor specific mesh partitioning. The other simulation is conducted using the homogenously patched cooling (HPC) model, which involves removing all the cooling jets. The HPC model applies volumetric sources adjacent to the combustor wall regions where cooling jets are present. The momentum source, however, becomes negligible. The HPC model is not predictive and requires tedious ex situ mass flow measurements from an auxiliary flowbench experiment, afflicted with systematic errors. Hence, the actual in situ air flow splits through the several combustor regions is not known with absolute certainty. The numerical results are compared with measurements of mass flow rates, static pressure drops, and path-integrated temperatures. The results demonstrate that it is critical to account for the discrete dome and liner cooling momentum to better emulate the reacting flow in a combustor.


Author(s):  
Seyed Ali Jazayeri ◽  
Masoud Mirzaei ◽  
Javad Kheyrollahi ◽  
Abdollah Shadaram

Atomization of the fuel that is injected to the combustion chamber depends on flow field characteristics during the compression process. Mixture formation, mixture preparation rate and delay period are some of the dominant factors in DI diesel engine performance and emission level. This paper presents a new CFD approach simulation of flow field during intake and compression of a four strokes IC engine. In this model a dynamic mesh is used to simulate the moving boundaries of engine parts, such as piston and valves. Computational domain, which is a precise model of one cylinder, is meshed to 300,000–500,000 cells. In our solution three different two-equation turbulence models are used. The capability of each model is highlighted and the results are compared with relevant works. The focus of these turbulence models and three-dimensional simulation of engine flow are to validate the reliability of flow characteristics. The results accurately demonstrate the three-dimensional characteristics of air motion in the swirl chamber and development of vortices.


Author(s):  
Farhad Davoudzadeh ◽  
Nan-Suey Liu

The three-dimensional, viscous, turbulent, reacting and non-reacting flow characteristics of a model gas turbine combustor operating on air/methane are simulated via an unstructured and massively parallel Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) code. This serves to demonstrate the capabilities of the code for design and analysis of real combustor engines. The effects of some design features of combustors are examined. In addition, the computed results are validated against experimental data. The numerical model encompasses the whole experimental flow passage, including the flow development sections for the air annulus and the fuel pipe, twelve channel air and fuel swirlers, the combustion chamber, and the tail pipe. A cubic non-linear low-Reynolds number K-e turbulence model is used to model turbulence, whereas the eddy-breakup model of Magnussen and Hjertager is used to account for the turbulence combustion interaction. Several RANS calculations are performed to determine the effects of the geometrical features of the combustor, and of the grid resolution on the flow field. The final grid is an all-hexahedron grid containing approximately two and one half million elements. To provide an inlet condition to the main combustion chamber, consistent with the experimental data, flow swirlers are adjusted along the flow delivery inlet passage. Fine details of the complex flow structure such as helicalring vortices, recirculation zones and vortex cores are well captured by the simulation. Consistent with the experimental results, the computational model predicts a major recirculation zone in the central region immediately downstream of the fuel nozzle, a second recirculation zone in the upstream corner of the combustion chamber, and a lifted flame. Further, the computed results predict the experimental data with reasonable accuracy for both the cold flow and for the reacting flow. It is also shown that small changes to the geometry can have noticeable effects on the combustor flowfield.


Author(s):  
Amir Mahdi Tahsini

The influence of the inlet swirling flow on the regression rate of the fuel in the combustion chamber of the solid fuel ramjet is investigated in this study using numerical simulations. The finite-volume solver of the compressible turbulent reacting flow is developed to study the flow field where the burning rate is computed using the conjugate heat transfer method for the solid fuel. The correlation is found for the maximum regression rate versus an imposed inlet swirl when the linear distribution of the circumferential velocity is applied at the inlet stream. Although the regression rate augmentation is considerable due to the swirling flow field in the combustor, it is shown that the swirl is effective if is applied near the shear layer of the backstep flow in the combustor. The modified swirler with short blades is suggested to be used in solid fuel ramjets to increase the regression rate of the fuel and improve the performance, but with lower pressure loss.


1998 ◽  
Vol 79 (01) ◽  
pp. 104-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osamu Takamiya

SummaryMurine monoclonal antibodies (designated hVII-B101/B1, hVIIDC2/D4 and hVII-DC6/3D8) directed against human factor VII (FVII) were prepared and characterized, with more extensive characterization of hVII-B101/B1 that did not bind reduced FVIIa. The immunoglobulin of the three monoclonal antibodies consisted of IgG1. These antibodies did not inhibit procoagulant activities of other vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors except FVII and did not cross-react with proteins in the immunoblotting test. hVII-DC2/D4 recognized the light chain after reduction of FVIIa with 2-mercaptoethanol, and hVIIDC6/3D8 the heavy chain. hVII-B101/B1 bound FVII without Ca2+, and possessed stronger affinity for FVII in the presence of Ca2+. The Kd for hVII-B101/B1 to FVII was 1.75 x 10–10 M in the presence of 5 mM CaCl2. The antibody inhibited the binding of FVII to tissue factor in the presence of Ca2+. hVII-B101/B1 also inhibited the activation of FX by the complex of FVIIa and tissue factor in the presence of Ca2+. Furthermore, immunoblotting revealed that hVII-B101/B1 reacted with non-reduced γ-carboxyglutaminic acid (Gla)-domainless-FVII and/or FVIIa. hVII-B101/B1 showed a similar pattern to that of non-reduced proteolytic fragments of FVII by trypsin with hVII-DC2/D4 on immunoblotting test. hVII-B101/B1 reacted differently with the FVII from the dysfunctional FVII variant, FVII Shinjo, which has a substitution of Gln for Arg at residue 79 in the first epidermal growth factor (1st EGF)-like domain (Takamiya O, et al. Haemosta 25, 89-97,1995) compared with normal FVII, when used as a solid phase-antibody for ELISA by the sandwich method. hVII-B101/B1 did not react with a series of short peptide sequences near position 79 in the first EGF-like domain on the solid-phase support for epitope scanning. These results suggested that the specific epitope of the antibody, hVII-B101/B1, was located in the three-dimensional structure near position 79 in the first EGF-like domain of human FVII.


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