Project Themis Supercritical Cold Flow Facility, Experiment Design and Modeling for the Study of Fluidic Mixing
Abstract
Project Themis is an in-house program within the Liquid Engines Branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). It focuses on investigation of liquid oxygen (LOX)/hydrocarbon high pressure combustion devices through subscale experimentation in combustion and inert conditions, theory development, and modeling and simulation (M&S). The Themis program has two goals: to minimize component risk and to mature new technologies that can be transitioned to future engine systems. The first helps AFRL technology demonstrators reduce risk by improving the fundamental understanding of these systems. The second focuses on the future by identifying new configurations, technologies, and materials for transition into future systems. As part of a set of Themis experiments, a facility is being activated to test the effect of supercritical conditions on the mixing of fluids in a jet-in-crossflow (JICF) configuration. This research serves as risk reduction for AFRL programs. The experiment will simulate the geometry and high pressure conditions of a liquid rocket engine (LRE) component in a non-combustion environment using inert fluids. The experiment is designed to be modular and can accommodate various injection concepts. In the current experiment, radial jets of liquid nitrogen (LN2) will be introduced into a freestream flow mixture of argon and helium at supercritical pressure. These fluids will simulate dense LOX injected into a flow of low density combusted gases. The simulant fluids have been selected to achieve large density and momentum ratios. This configuration is designed to mature the understanding of the mixing process of variable density jets in a supercritical state. This paper will describe the facility configuration, modeling of the facility using Sinda-Fluint and the challenges of activating a mothballed facility. It will also describe the experimental set-up, instrumentation and test matrix for the experiment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA592946
Entities
People
- Nils Sedano
- Pat Sgarlata
- Ray Walsh
- Robert Bernstein
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory