Numerical Investigation on the Thermal Behaviour of a LOx/LCH4 Demonstrator Cooling System

Ricci, Daniele; Battista, Francesco; Fragiacomo, Manrico

doi:10.3390/aerospace8060151

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The test campaign was successfully performed, considering the following test parameters: Results from the numerical rebuilding activity in terms of fluid temperature, pressure drops, and channel wall-temperature values were in good agreement with the experimental data, as also reported in [38]. In fact, the maximum discrepancies in terms of fluid-temperature differences between inlet and outlet sections and pressure drops are equal to about 1.3% and 4.0%, respectively, while differences in terms of the channel's bottom surface is maximum 1.0%.…”

Section: Methodology Validationsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…Moreover, a validated numerical procedure has been set up in view of being adopted to run the thermal simulations on the HYPROB final Demonstrator first unit (DEMO-0A), supporting the detailed design. Further information on the program and on the realized breadboards are available in [14,16,38]. It is worth highlighting that the application of the classical semiempirical correlations, adopted to calculate the evaluation of heat-transfer coefficients, does not produce reliable results in the deteriorated mode, and in addition, high values of relative roughness also represent a challenging condition from the numerical-modeling point of view.…”

Section: Transcritical Behavior Of Methane In a Lre Cooling Jacketmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Transcritical Behavior Of Methane In a Lre Cooling Jacketmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transcritical Behavior of Methane in the Cooling Jacket of a Liquid-Oxygen/Liquid-Methane Rocket-Engine Demonstrator

2022

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The successful design of a liquid rocket engine is strictly linked to the development of efficient cooling systems, able to dissipate huge thermal loads coming from the combustion in the thrust chamber. Generally, cooling architectures are based on regenerative strategies, adopting fuels as coolants; and on cooling jackets, including several narrow axial channels allocated around the thrust chambers. Moreover, since cryogenic fuels are used, as in the case of oxygen/methane-based liquid rocket engines, the refrigerant is injected in liquid phase at supercritical pressure conditions and heated by the thermal load coming from the combustion chamber, which tends to experience transcritical conditions until behaving as a supercritical vapor before exiting the cooling jacket. The comprehension of fluid behavior inside the cooling jackets of liquid-oxygen/methane rocket engines as a function of different operative conditions represents not only a current topic but a critical issue for the development of future propulsion systems. Hence, the current manuscript discusses the results concerning the cooling jacket equipping the liquid-oxygen/liquid-methane demonstrator, designed and manufactured within the scope of HYPROB-NEW Italian Project. In particular, numerical results considering the nominal operating conditions and the influence of variables, such as the inlet temperature and pressure values of refrigerant as well as mass-flow rate, are shown to discuss the fluid transcritical behavior inside the cooling channels and give indications on the numerical methodologies, supporting the design of liquid-oxygen/liquid-methane rocket-engine cooling systems. Validation has been accomplished by means of experimental results obtained through a specific test article, provided with a cooling channel, characterized by dimensions representative of HYPROB DEMO-0A regenerative combustion chamber.

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Section: Methodology Validationsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Transcritical Behavior Of Methane In a Lre Cooling Jacketmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transcritical Behavior of Methane in the Cooling Jacket of a Liquid-Oxygen/Liquid-Methane Rocket-Engine Demonstrator

2022

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“…The computational domain also included both solid parts, which consisted of the thrust chamber liner, which was made of CuCrZr copper alloy, while the electrodeposited layer on the rib surface was made from pure copper and, for the close-out, pure nickel was used (see Figure 6). All the thermo-physical properties were considered as a function of temperature and evaluated by means of specific activities associated with material thermomechanical characterization via a dedicated characterization activity [51], in line with data cited in the literature [52]. Because a symmetrical model has been considered, only half the channel has been simulated in order to limit the computational effort.…”

Section: Numerical Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal Behaviour of the Cooling Jacket Belonging to a Liquid Oxygen/Liquid Methane Rocket Engine Demonstrator in the Operation Box

et al. 2023

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The cooling jackets of liquid rocket engines are composed of narrow passages surrounding the thrust chambers and ensure the reliable operation of the engine. Critical conditions may also be encountered, since the cooling jackets of cryogenic engines, such as those using LOX/LCH4 propellants, are based on a regenerative strategy, where the fuel is used as a refrigerant. Consequently, deterioration modes near where pseudocritical conditions are reached or low heat transfer coefficients where the fuel becomes a vapour and must therefore be managed. The verification of the cooling jacket behaviour to consolidate the design solutions in all the extreme points of the operating box represents a very important phase. The present paper discusses the full characterization of the HYPROB (HYdrocarbon PROpulsion test Bench Program) first unit of the final demonstrator, (DEMO-0A), by considering the working points within the limits of the operating box and comparisons with the nominal conditions are given. In this way, a full understanding of the cooling system behaviour, affecting the working of the entire thrust chamber, is accomplished. Moreover, the design strategy and choices have been confirmed, since the verifications also include potentially even more extreme conditions with respect to the nominal ones. The investigation has been numerically performed and supported the thermo-structural analyses accomplished before the final firing campaign, completed in December 2022. Since little information is available in the literature on LOX/LCH4 engines, suggestions are given as to the organization of the numerical simulations, which support the design of such rocket engine cooling systems.

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“…Furthermore, several efforts have been made to study the thermal efficiency of the cooling system of regeneratively cooled thrust chambers by means of thermal and fluid-dynamic numerical investigations [ 9 , 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermostructural Numerical Analysis of the Thrust Chamber of a Liquid Propellant Rocket Engine

et al. 2022

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The numerical simulation of rocket engine thrust chambers is very challenging as several damaging phenomena, such as plasticity, low-cycle-fatigue (LCF) and creep occur during its service life. The possibility of simulating the thermostructural behavior of the engine, by means of non-linear finite element analyses, allows the engineers to guarantee the structural safety of the structure. This document reports the numerical simulations developed with the aim of predicting the thermostructural behaviour and the service life of the thrust chamber of a liquid-propellant rocket engine. The work represents a step ahead of previous researches by the authors, with particular reference to the addition of the Smith-Watson-Topper (SWT) fatigue criterion, and to the implementation of a sub-modelling technique, for a more accurate assessment of the most critical section of the component. It was found that the equivalent plastic strains in the most critical nodes obtained through the sub-modelling technique were about 20% lower than those calculated without sub-modelling. Consistently with experimental tests from literature conducted on similar geometries, the most critical areas resulted to be on the internal surface of the chamber. The analyses demonstrated that the LCF damaging contribution was significant, with a life prediction for the thrust chamber of about 3400 cycles.

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Numerical Investigation on the Thermal Behaviour of a LOx/LCH4 Demonstrator Cooling System

Cited by 8 publications

References 11 publications

Transcritical Behavior of Methane in the Cooling Jacket of a Liquid-Oxygen/Liquid-Methane Rocket-Engine Demonstrator

Transcritical Behavior of Methane in the Cooling Jacket of a Liquid-Oxygen/Liquid-Methane Rocket-Engine Demonstrator

Thermal Behaviour of the Cooling Jacket Belonging to a Liquid Oxygen/Liquid Methane Rocket Engine Demonstrator in the Operation Box

Thermostructural Numerical Analysis of the Thrust Chamber of a Liquid Propellant Rocket Engine

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