AFRL's ALREST Physics-Based Combustion Stability Program
Abstract
Combustion instabilities have been observed in nearly every major liquid rocket engine development effort, including the most recent development programs. They are caused by the coupling of the natural acoustic modes of the combustion chamber with the dynamics of the combustion heat release and can lead to catastrophic damage of the internal components of the rocket engine. Rayleigh's criterion states that combustion instabilities are driven when the pressure waves and the heat release are in phase and that the instabilities are damped when they are out of phase. Despite the simplicity of this relationship, the prediction of the occurrence of combustion instabilities has proven to be an enduring challenge because of the inherent complexities in the physics of multiphase turbulent flames. The present paper provides the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL)'s vision and strategy for combustor design tools that can predict combustion stability to help guide the development of the US's next generation liquid rocket engines.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 08, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA594878
Entities
People
- Douglas G. Talley
- Venke Sankaran
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory