Numerical study on combustion efficiency of aluminum particles in solid rocket motor

The combustion of aluminum particles in solid rocket motor plays an important role in energy release of propellants. However, due to the limited residence time, aluminum particles may not be burned completely, thus hindering the improvement of specific impulse. This study aims to explore the characteristics of aluminum combustion efficiency and its influencing factors by experiments and numerical simulations, providing a guideline for engine performance improvement. As an input of simulation, the initial agglomerate size was measured by a high pressure system. Meanwhile, the size distribution of the particles in plume was measured by ground firing test to validate the numerical model. Then, a two-phase flow model coupling combustion of micro aluminum particle was developed, by which the detailed effects of particle size, detaching position and nozzle convergent section structure on aluminum combustion efficiency were explored. The results suggest that the average combustion temperature in the chamber drops with increasing initial particle size, while the maximum temperature increases slightly. In the tested motors, the aluminum particle burns completely as its diameter is smaller than 50 μm, and beyond 50 μm the combustion efficiency decreases obviously with the increase of initial size. As the diameter approaches to 75 μm, the combustion efficiency becomes more sensitive to particle size. The combustion efficiency of aluminum particle escaping from end-burning surfaces is significantly higher than that from internal burning surface, where the particle combustion efficiency decreases during approaching the convergent section. Furthermore, the combustion efficiency decreases slightly with increasing nozzle convergent section angle. And theoretically it is feasible to improve combustion efficiency of aluminum particles by designing the convergent profile of nozzle.     

电大尺寸平面数字相控阵外场通道校准测试方法

电大尺寸平面数字相控阵通道校准测试对暗室规模和质量要求极高，扫描架探针移动速度受限导致通道校准的暗室测试时间长达数小时，且长时间测试引起的温度变化会造成通道相位漂移从而导致测试结果不准确。针对存在的问题，提出了一种外场通道校准测试方法，整个阵面中所有通道单次校准测试仅需几分钟，可有效解决由于长时间测试引起的温度变化进而造成的通道相位漂移问题，并通过引入基准通道来解决外场通道校准测试中存在的收发不同源问题。测试方法可有效缩短电大尺寸平面数字相控阵的通道校准时间，提高测试准确性，降低天线测试过程中的时间成本和暗室硬件建造成本。最后，通过某Ka频段电大尺寸平面数字相控阵测控系统的外场测试，验证了方法的可行性和正确性。