Date of Award
2014-01-01
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor(s)
Ahsan Choudhuri
Abstract
The Center for Space Exploration Technology Research (cSETR) has developed a set of shear coaxial injectors as part of a system-level approach to study LOX/CH4 combustion. This Thesis describes the experimental studies involved in the characterization of the effects produced by two design injection face plate variables: post thickness and recession length. A testing program was developed to study the injectors' atomization process using LN2 as a substitute for LOX in cold flow and the flame anchoring mechanisms in hot firings. The cold flow testing stage was conducted to obtain liquid core measurements and compare its behavior between the different geometric configurations. Shadowgraph technique was used during this testing stage to obtain these measurements and compare them to previously published data and core length mathematical models. The inlet conditions were selected to obtain mixture ratios in the 2-4 range and a wide range of high momentum flux ratios (30-150). Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was also used in the testing of the three injectors to assess their atomization performance and their fragmentation behaviors. Results show that changes in central post thickness and co-annular orifice recession length with respect to the injection plate have quantifiable effects in the generated spray flow field, despite not being accounted for in traditional break up calculations. The observations and results of this investigation lead to a proof of concept demonstration in a combustion setting to support the study of flame anchoring mechanisms, also discussed in this work.
Language
en
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
Copyright Date
2014
File Size
71 pages
File Format
application/pdf
Rights Holder
Vanessa Dorado-Martinez
Recommended Citation
Dorado-Martinez, Vanessa, "Experimental Studies of LOX/CH4 Uni-Element Shear Coaxial Injector Geometry" (2014). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 1231.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/1231