Numerical modeling of unsteady flame propagation

The problem of the numerical modeling of unsteady flame propagation with large amounts of exothermic heat release has been addressed through the use of a model equation which contains many of the important nonlinearities and difficulties in the problem. The model equation has been solved for a significant variation in Damköhler number with a variety of conventional and new finite-difference procedures. One of the new procedures used was an adaptive grid method which places node points in the region of large temperature gradients where they are necessary for a proper simulation of the phenomena. This adaptive grid procedure does have significant advantages over conventional second and fourth order uniform grid methods for many aspects of the problem. It has been found that conventional methods with relatively few node points are inadequate for flames with high Damköhler number, because of the fact that too few nodes are located in the flame. Further refinement of the adaptive grid method seems feasible, but even in the present form it represents a significant improvement over conventional techniques.     

An approach to the autoignition of a turbulent mixture

This paper considers the turbulent homogeneous mixing of two reactants undergoing a one step, second order, irreversible, exothermic chemical reaction with a rate constant of the Arrhenius type. A statistically stationary turbulent velocity field is assumed given and unaffected by mass or heat production due to the chemical reaction. Relative density fluctuations are neglected. A Hopf-like functional formalism is presented, with application to both statistically inhomogeneous and statistically homogeneous flows. Single and double point probability density function differential equations are derived from those functional equations. The limit of very large activation energies is considered; a low degree of statistical correlation between temperature and concentration fields during the ignition period is hypothesized. After making use of the homogeneity assumption a closure problem is still present due to the nonlocalness of the molecular diffusion term. The problem is rendered closed by assuming a Gaussian conditional expected value for the temperature at a point given the temperature at a neighboring point. The closure is seen to preserve very important mathematical and physical properties. A linear first order hyperbolic differential equation with variable coefficients for the probability density function of the temperature field is obtained. A second Damköhler number based on Taylor's microscale turns out to be an important controlling parameter. A numerical integration for different values of the second Damköhler number and the initial stochastic parameters is carried out. The mixture is seen to evolve towards an eventual thermal runaway, the detailed behavior however being different for different systems. Some peculiarities during the ignition period evolution are uncovered.     

Droplet vaporization in supercritical pressure environments

For most liquid-fueled combustion systems the behavior of the fuel as it is introduced to the combustion zone, often by spray injection, will have a significant impact on combustion. The subsequent combustion may be affected to a considerable degree by the initial spread of the liquid, break-up of larger fuel sheets and droplets into droplets of various sizes, droplet vaporization, and diffusion of gaseous fuel. Among the many factors which affect spray break-up and droplet vaporization are the environmental conditions into which the spray is introduced. For both diesel engines and rockets the environment pressure and temperature may be above the critical pressure and temperature of the injected fuel. In a compression-ignition internal combustion engine, the environment consists primarily of air, at pressures from 20 to 100 atmospheres and temperatures ranging from 900 to 1500 K. Even higher pressures are encountered in turbocharged diesels. A typical diesel reference fuel, dodecane, has a thermodynamic critical pressure of about 17 atmospheres, and a critical temperature of 600 K. Fuel is injected into a diesel engine environment in which ambient pressures exceed the critical pressure. While droplet temperatures are subcritical at first, they may rise to the critical temperature or higher.This paper will survey current understanding of supercritical pressure droplet vaporization. Specifically, the topics covered will include: liquid phase behavior; vapor phase behavior; thermodynamic and transport properties; droplet distribution and break-up; micro-explosions; and effects of microgravity.     

On gas-phase ignition of diffusion flame in the stagnation-point boundary layer

An analytical expression for gas-phase ignition is developed for a diffusion flame in the two-dimensional or axisymmetric stagnation-point boundary-layer flow of a hot oxidizing gas about a vaporizing condensed fuel surface. The analysis is based on the limit of large activation energy for a one-step, irreversible reaction describing the overall combustion process in the gas phase. The approach in this work, following that of our recent analysis on extinction for the same geometry, is to seek an exact correspondence of the parameters of the present problem with those of counterflow diffusion-flame problem of Liñán. Such a correspondence has been found in the frozen-flow regime and as a consequence, the asymptotic structure of the flame in the nearly frozen ignition regime is identical in both the problems. A particular result of this observation is the availability of an analytical criterion for ignition in the present problem. The analysis reveals that contrary to the case of extinction, fluid dynamic details do not have significant effect on the ignition criterion and that Liñán's results may be applied with good accuracy to the condensed fuel problem.     

Combustion characteristics of the end burning hybrid rockets in laminar flow

In this study, we aim to clarify the blowoff mechanism for flame spreading in an opposed laminar flow in narrow solid fuel ducts. To clarify this mechanism we conducted two experiments. First, we observed the changes of the flame spread rate at various oxygen velocities, ambient pressures, and port diameters. For flame spreading in laminar flow, combustion modes could be classified into 3 distinct regimes based on the strength of the opposed flow, i.e., chemical regime, thermal regime, and stabilized regime. This result is consistent with the result in turbulent flow. In the stabilized regime, quenching distance is almost constant despite oxygen velocity. In order to investigate the effect of ambient pressure and port diameter of fuels on blowoff limit, transition oxygen velocity is observed. As a result, transition oxygen velocity is proportional to the logarithm of the ambient pressure and port diameter. This relation is applicable despite the flow condition. Furthermore, we calculated velocity gradient at the fuel surface to reveal the determining factor of the blowoff limit in laminar flow. Consequently, velocity gradient, which is considered to dominate flow separation in laminar flow, would not be constant. This is because the velocity gradient at the fuel surface could not be evaluated by only the assumption of Hagen–Poiseuille flow but other parameters, such as vaporized fuel gas and natural convection by buoyancy should be included.     

高温高压环境下煤油液滴蒸发过程实验研究

应用高速摄影系统和图像处理技术研究了煤油液滴在温度473~773 K、压力1.0~4.0 MPa静止气体环境下的蒸发过程,得到了环境温度与环境压力对煤油液滴特性的影响规律。实验结果表明:环境温度低于573 K时,煤油液滴蒸发D2曲线不符合d2定律;环境温度高于673 K低于773 K时,液滴直径变化与d2定律吻合。环境压力对液滴蒸发的影响与环境温度密切相关,环境温度低于473 K时,随着环境压力的升高,液滴蒸发速率变慢;环境温度高于673 K时,随着环境压力的升高液滴蒸发速率加快。     

Two-phase flow effect on hybrid rocket combustion

This study numerically explores the aerodynamic and combustion processes in a hybrid rocket combustor, under a two-phase turbulent flow environment, considering the evaporation, combustion and drag of droplet and droplet ignition criterion. The predictions of temperature, reaction mode, reactant mass fraction, velocity, oxidizer consumption, fuel regression and droplet number distribution enhance understanding of the two-phase combustion aerodynamics inside the combustor. A parametric study of the inlet spray pattern, including spray cone angle, spray injection velocity and droplet size, is performed to improve the operation of reactant mixing and higher fuel regression rate. Analytical results indicate that both the oxidizer consumption and the fuel regression increase with increasing spray cone angle and spray injection velocity in the practical range of operation. However, for stoichiometric operation, the superior spray cone angle is within 20–60°, and spray injection velocity within 20–40 m/s, under a volume-mean droplet radius of 50 μm. The power dependence of solid-fuel regression on total mass flux is found to decrease with rising of droplet mean size.     

一氧化二氮无毒推进剂催化分解研究

为研究一氧化二氮（N2O）推进剂,建立了N2O催化分解装置,对N2O催化分解条件进行了研究,使用电阻丝外加热方式,将催化床外壁加热到400℃后切断电源,贮箱压力维持在0.4MPa的条件下,纯N2O流经催化剂发生分解,并能维持反应持续进行,最终催化床外壁温度可达到500℃～760℃。选择性能优良的催化剂C-2和添加剂T-B,可使N2O催化床外壁的催化分解温度达到980℃,具备了与燃料着火的条件。     

高金属含量水反应金属燃料稳态燃烧模型

为探索水冲压发动机稳态燃烧机理,以水反应金属燃料在水蒸气环境下的稳态燃烧试验为基础,建立了镁基高金属含量水反应金属燃料稳态燃烧模型,燃料中金属镁含量大于70％.将镁基水反应金属燃料稳态燃烧过程分为惰性加热区、凝相反应区和气相反应区,指出燃面附近气相火焰结构由4部分组成,分别为AP预混火焰、AP/HTPB扩散火焰、AP/...     

Theory of flame spread above solids

A theory for flame spread above a solid fuel is presented. The special case is considered whereby the oxidation is an exothermic surface reaction. The spreading rate is predicted as a function of the thermochemical properties, fuel-bed thickness, and convective velocity. Also, the theory predicts temperature, mass fraction, and heat flux as a function of position.     

含偶氮四唑胍的RDX-CMDB推进剂的燃烧性能和热行为研究

采用浇铸工艺制备了GZT部分取代RDX的系列RDX-CMDB推进剂样品。研究了GZT对不含催化剂的RDX-CMDB推进剂的燃速、压强指数及燃烧火焰结构等燃烧性能的影响,并采用TG-DTG和DSC实验,初步研究了含GZT的RDX-CMDB推进剂的热行为。结果发现,GZT对推进剂的火焰温度、火焰的暗区厚度、燃面上的亮点数目和燃烧表面对凝聚相的温度梯度等都呈现一定规律性的影响;在1～10 MPa范围内,GZT使RDX-CMDB推进剂的燃速升高,压强指数降低。热行为研究表明,加入GZT时,推进剂的DSC曲线上出现一个单独的放热分解峰,对应TG曲线上也表现出一个单独的失重过程。     

含硼富燃料推进剂燃烧波结构分析

采用微测温和火焰照相及SEM研究了含硼富燃料推进剂燃烧波温度分布、火焰结构及熄火表面；结合热力计算，分析含硼富燃料推进剂中硼燃烧反应类型。研究认为低压下推进剂燃烧波结构存在暗区；硼表面用AP包覆，可以降低暗区厚度，有利于改善推进剂的燃烧。     

偶氮四唑胍对含催化剂的RDX-CMDB推进剂燃烧性能的影响研究

采用浇注工艺制备了GZT部分取代RDX的系列含催化剂的RDX-CMDB推进剂样品。研究了GZT对含催化剂的RDX-CMDB推进剂的燃速、压强指数及燃烧火焰结构等燃烧性能的影响,对比分析了GZT对含催化剂和不含催化剂的RDX-CMDB推进剂燃烧行为影响不同的原因,并采用DSC实验初步研究了含GZT和催化剂的RDX-CMDB推进剂的热行为。结果发现,GZT对推进剂的火焰温度、火焰的暗区厚度、燃面上的亮点数目、燃烧表面对凝聚相的温度梯度等都呈现一定规律性的影响;在1～10 MPa内,GZT使含催化剂的RDX-CMDB推进剂燃速降低,压强指数升高;热行为研究表明,含催化剂的GZT-RDX-CMDB推进剂的DSC曲线上出现了GZT单独分解峰,且DSC的第一分解峰温随GZT的加入而减小。     

状态方程对煤油液滴高压蒸发计算的影响

分别基于RK、SRK和PR等不同真实流体状态方程(EoS)建立了包含亚临界和超临界两种不同机制的瞬态液滴高压蒸发模型。针对我国新一代高压补燃液氧/煤油发动机,对煤油液滴在高压N 2 环境下的蒸发过程进行数值研究,重点分析了不同状态方程对N 2 -C 12 H 26 二元系统高压气液相平衡,及进一步对煤油液滴高压蒸发计算的影响。结果表明：对液滴蒸发速率影响最大的参数是液滴表面蒸气质量分数,而对该参数影响最大的则是所选取的状态方程。基于SRK和PR EoSs的高压气液相平衡及液滴高压蒸发计算结果均与试验数据符合较好,可正确描述液滴高压蒸发特性;而基于RK EoS的相平衡计算结果显著高估液滴表面蒸气质量分数和环境气体溶解度,并低估临界混合温度和偏摩尔相变热,进而在亚临界蒸发状态下高估蒸发速率,在超临界蒸发状态下低估蒸发速率。另外,基于RK EoS的计算中液滴发生跨临界转变所需的环境温度显著低于基于SRK和PR EoSs的。     

One Possible Mechanism to Sustain Combustion inside a Closed Region under Zero Gravity

An experimental study carried out aboard the Mirstation showed that a stearin candle can burn for a long time even inside a closed volume without a forced circulation. Such experiments imply that there is some mechanism for a permanent transport of the oxidizer to the flame zone. It can be assumed that a jet of combustion products outflowing along a normal direction with respect to the flame surface produces a vortex motion in the environmental space, which delivers oxygen to the flame zone. To verify the feasibility of combustion to be sustained by such a mechanism, a mathematical statement of the problem of combustion inside a closed region under zero gravity without a forced circulation was formulated. A simplified model was put forward to simulate the combustion of solid and liquid substances, which allowed the effects of chemical reactions to be reduced to boundary conditions. The computations showed that the proposed mechanism of oxygen transport to the flame zone really can sustain an almost stationary regime of combustion.     

Analytical solution for a single droplet diffusion combustion problem accounting for several chain reaction stages

In the present study we investigate steady-state combustion of a liquid fuel droplet in the atmosphere of oxidizer under the condition of non-equilibrium evaporation from the surface.Utilizing the fact that chemical interactions of fuel with oxidizer involve a chain mechanism or several reaction stages, we transform the Shvab-Zel'dovich method so as to obtain exact analytical solution accounting for the possibility of several chain reactions.The obtained results show that this method is effective for solving the combustion problem and allow to define the values of parameters in gas around the droplet more accurately than the original method having taken into account one brutto-reaction.     

Laminar dust flames in a reduced-gravity environment

The propagation of laminar dust flames in suspensions of iron in gaseous oxidizers was studied in a low-gravity environment onboard a parabolic flight aircraft. The reduction of buoyancy-induced convective flows and particle settling permitted the measurement of fundamental combustion parameters, such as the burning velocity and the flame quenching distance over a wide range of particle sizes and in different gaseous mixtures. Experimentally measured flame speeds and quenching distances were found in good agreement with theoretical predictions of a simplified analytical model that assumes particles burning in a diffusive mode. However, the comparison of flame speeds in oxygen–argon and oxygen–helium iron suspensions indicates the possibility that fine micron-sized particles burn in the kinetic mode. Furthermore, when the particle spacing is large compared to the scale of the reaction zone, a theoretical analysis suggests the existence of a new so-called discrete flame propagation regime. Discrete flames are strongly dependent on particle density fluctuations and demonstrate directed percolation behavior near flame propagation limits. The experimental observation of discrete flames in particle suspensions will require low levels of gravity over extended periods available only on orbital platforms.     

降低硝胺推进剂燃速和压强指数的暗区增强理论

在分析总结高能硝胺推进剂燃速特性和燃烧火焰结构的基础上，提出了重点降低高压燃速及其压强指数的暗区增强理论；并选择了数种添加剂对上述理论进行了验证。实验结果表明，所选择或合成的添加剂都可同时降低燃速和压强指数；燃烧火焰结构验证实验也表明，加入ＰＣ３０／ＰＣ３５组合添加剂显著增加了暗区的厚度，降低了暗区的压强敏感性和总化学反应级数；同时组合添加剂的抑制作用效率随着压强的增加而增强，这导致推进剂在燃速降