RESEARCH ON SURFACE CATALYSIS IN NONEQULIBRIUM FLOWS

Abstract

The report describes the results of a program of research to develop a catalytic probe with a discontinuous catalytic surface. The ultimate objective is to use the probe to measure the ambient oxygen atom concentrations in high- temperature wind tunnel facilities, and a discontinuous catalytic surface was used to increase the probe sensitivity to small atom concentrations. The report first reviews the theoretical basis for this probe configuration, and then presents experimental data obtained with the probe in air and simulated air. The accuracy of existing theory for a probe with a discontinuous catalytic surface was demonstrated in equilibrium flow experiments in a shock tube using simulated air with a single reactant. Subsequent equilibrium flow experiments in real air indicated that oxygen atom recombination is the only important reaction occurring on the surface and thereby demonstrated the utility of the probe as a diagnostic in high-temperature air flows. It was concluded that the discrepancies could result from a weak wave system in the nozzle and from uncertainties in the chemical rate data used in the theoretical prediction of the nozzle flow.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1970
Accession Number
AD0704814

Entities

People

  • John A. Bartz
  • Robert J. Vidal

Organizations

  • Calspan

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Boundary Layer
  • Catalysis
  • Chemical Kinetics
  • Chemical Reaction Properties
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Data Analysis
  • Flow Fields
  • Heat Transfer
  • High Temperature
  • Instrumentation
  • Measurement
  • Shock Tunnels
  • Surface Properties
  • Surface Reactions
  • Surface Temperature
  • Test Facilities

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Combustion Dynamics and Shock Wave Physics.
  • Combustion science or combustion engineering.
  • Fluid Dynamics.