Numerical Simulations of Fuel Shape Change and Swirling Flows in Paraffin/Oxygen Hybrid Rocket Engines

Fabiani, Marco; Gubernari, Giorgio; Migliorino, Mario Tindaro; Bianchi, Daniele; Nasuti, Francesco

doi:10.1007/s42496-022-00141-6

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Finally, it can be argued whether Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes approaches (as in the majority of HRE simulations) are ideally suited for the complex wall blowing and pyrolysing phenomena at the fuel surface. Nevertheless, numerical simulations of HREs are improving significantly, be it in the modelling of hydrodynamic instabilities [149,150], swirl injection [138,[152][153][154], shape changing simulations [153][154][155][156][157] (see Figures 7 and 8), complex geometries such as helices [158][159][160], rotated grains [144,161], throttling [72,162], or nozzle erosion [94,163]. Simplified geometries and simulations carried out on the average fuel port diameter are considerably less computationally costly compared to multiple instances of the fuel port progression, with both providing satisfactory representations of the HRE flow field and local regression rates [157,164].…”

Section: Numerical Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging the Technology Gap: Strategies for Hybrid Rocket Engines

Glaser,

Hijlkema,

Anthoine

2023

Aerospace

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Hybrid rocket propulsion, first demonstrated by the Russian GIRD-09 rocket in 1933, combines liquid oxidizer and solid fuel for thrust generation. Despite numerous advantages, such as enhanced safety, controllability, and potential environmental benefits, hybrid propulsion has yet to achieve its full potential in space applications. In recent years, the research on hybrid propulsion has gained enormous momentum in both academia and industry. Recent accomplishments such as the altitude record for student rockets (64 km), the launch of the first electric pump-fed hybrid rocket, and a successful 25 s hovering test highlight the potential of hybrid rockets. However, although the hybrid community is growing constantly, industrial utilizations and in-space validations do not yet exist. In this work, we reassess the possibilities of hybrid rocket engines by presenting potential fields of applications from the literature. Most importantly, we identify the technical challenges that hinder the breakthrough of hybrid propulsion in the space sector and evaluate the technologies and approaches necessary to bridge the gaps in hybrid rocket development.

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Section: Numerical Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging the Technology Gap: Strategies for Hybrid Rocket Engines

Glaser,

Hijlkema,

Anthoine

2023

Aerospace

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“…In addition, HREs have simpler structures than liquid rocket engines [2][3][4][5]. However, the development of HREs is currently confined by the low fuel grain regression rates associated with these engines [6][7][8][9] along with the uneven distribution of regression along the fuel grain. These issues occur because the combustion process in an HRE is primarily driven by boundary-layer fluid dynamics [10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combustion Characteristics of a Swirl-Radial-Injection Composite Fuel Grain with Applications in Hybrid Rockets

Wang,

Lin,

Wang

et al. 2023

Aerospace

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The combustion characteristics of a swirl-radial-injection composite fuel grain were experimentally and numerically investigated. This composite grain permits swirl-radial oxidizer injection based on three hollow helical blades, each having a constant hollow space allowing uniform oxidizer injection into the main chamber along the axial direction. The oxidizer enters from channel inlets located along a hollow outer wall. This wall, together with the three blades, is fabricated as one piece from acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene using three-dimensional printing. Paraffin-based fuel is embedded in the spaces between adjacent blades. Firing tests were conducted with gaseous oxygen as the oxidizer, using oxidizer mass flow rates ranging from 7.45 to 30.68 g/s. Paraffin-based fuel grains using conventional fore-end injection were used for comparison. Regression rate boundaries were determined taking into account the erosion of the oxidizer channels. The data show that the regression rate was significantly increased even at the lower limit. Images of the combustion chamber flame and of the exhaust plume were also acquired. The flame was found to be concentrated in the main chamber and a smoky plume was observed, consistent with the high regression rate. A three-dimensional simulation was employed. The present design was found to improve fuel/oxidizer mixing and combustion efficiency compared with a fuel grain using fore-end injection. Both the experimental results and numerical simulations confirmed the potential of this swirl-radial-injection fuel grain.

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Multiphysics Modeling for Combustion Instability in Paraffin-Fueled Hybrid Rocket Engines

Casalino,

Ferrero,

Folcarelli

et al. 2024

Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets

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The use of paraffin-based fuels is a promising approach to a low regression rate in hybrid rocket engines, and the capability to describe and predict combustion instability in the presence of liquefying fuels becomes an enabling step towards the application of hybrid rockets in a wide range of space transportation systems. In this work, a multiphysics model having this purpose is presented and discussed. The model is based on a network of submodels in which chamber gas dynamics is described by a quasi-1D Euler model for reacting flows while thermal diffusion in the grain is described by the 1D heat equation in the radial direction. An artificial neural network is introduced to reduce the computational cost required by the chemical submodel. A sensitivity analysis is performed to identify the key parameters, which have the largest influence on combustion instability and to evaluate the predictive capability of the model despite the uncertainty introduced with the necessary modeling simplifications. Results are presented considering two test cases with different oxidizers: hydrogen peroxide and gaseous oxygen. The procedure shows good agreement with the experimental results available in the literature.

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Numerical Simulations of Fuel Shape Change and Swirling Flows in Paraffin/Oxygen Hybrid Rocket Engines

Cited by 4 publications

References 23 publications

Bridging the Technology Gap: Strategies for Hybrid Rocket Engines

Bridging the Technology Gap: Strategies for Hybrid Rocket Engines

Combustion Characteristics of a Swirl-Radial-Injection Composite Fuel Grain with Applications in Hybrid Rockets

Multiphysics Modeling for Combustion Instability in Paraffin-Fueled Hybrid Rocket Engines

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