Dimensional Analysis and Self-Similarity Theory for Regenerative Liquid Propellant Guns

Abstract

Regenerative liquid propellant guns (RLPGs) have been studied for many years. RLPG firings almost always show large, high-frequency pressure oscillations. To study this phenomenon, a fluid dynamics model of the combustion chamher/gun tube of an RLPG has been developed. High-frequency oscillations are generated naturally by the physics modeled in the code. Dimensional analysis has been applied to the governing equations to furnish insight into the dynamic relationships among pressure, density, temperature, droplet size, etc. The dimensional analysis predicts a scaling law between different-sized fixtures. The computational results exactly match these predictions. This agreement establishes the basis of self-similarity in the physical processes (e.g., tradeoff between droplet size and burning rate) and, in addition, helps verify the computational model.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADA375067

Entities

People

  • I. Kohlberg
  • T. P. Coffee

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Burning Rate
  • Chambers
  • Combustion
  • Combustion Chambers
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Computational Science
  • Differential Equations
  • Equations
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Frequency
  • Ignition Lag
  • Liquid Propellants
  • Propellants
  • Scaling Laws
  • Three Dimensional
  • Two Dimensional

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Rocket Propulsion.