Swirl Coaxial Injector Development
Abstract
Sierra Engineering and the Air Force Research Laboratory Propulsion Directorate, have undertaken a program to develop gas-centered, swirl coaxial injectors. This injector design will be used in the multi-element Advanced Fuels Tester (AFT) engine to test a variety of hydrocarbon propellants. As part of this program, a design methodology is being developed which will be applicable to future injector design efforts. The methodology combines cold flow data, acquired in the AFRL High Pressure Injector Flow facility, uni-element hot fire data, collected in AFRL Test Cell EC-1, and a computational effort conducted at University of Alabama-Birmingham, to identify key design features and sensitivities. Only results from the experimental effort will be presented in this work. Three different gas-centered swirl coaxial element concepts are being studied: a converging design, a diverging design, and a pre-filming design. The cold flow experiments demonstrated that all three classes of elements produced an extremely dense, solid cone spray, with the highest mass density in the center. The atomization of all of these injectors was excellent, producing mean drop sizes 1/3 to 1/4 of that typically measured for shear coaxial elements operating under similar conditions. Uni-element hot fire testing has found that the converging designs produce C* efficiencies in excess of 90% over a wide-range of mixture ratios and pressure conditions. Near the design pressure, efficiencies exceeding 96% have been measured. In the diverging designs, a chamber oscillation of near 200 Hz has been noted. The cause of this oscillation is under investigation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 27, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA410862
Entities
People
- Douglas G. Talley
- J. A. Muss
- P. A. Strakey
- R. K. Cohn
- R. W. Bates
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory