The Effect of Surface Roughness on LCH4 Boiling Heat Transfer Performance of Conventionally and Additively Manufactured Rocket Engine Regenerative Cooling Channels

Hernandez, Linda; Palacios, Raul E.; Ortega, Debra; Adams, Jason; Bugarin, Luz; Rahman, Md Mahamudur; Choudhuri, Ahsan

doi:10.2514/6.2019-4363

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Cryogenic flow boiling experiments are performed using a high heat flux test facility (HHFTF), shown in Figure 2, capable of operating up to 4 MPa pressure and 755 K temperature using liquid nitrogen (LN 2 ) and liquid methane (LCH 4 ) as the working fluids [26][27][28]. The HHFTF is a thermal concentrator system based on conduction that asymmetrically transfers heat to a horizontal cooling channel resembling regenerative cooling during combustion.…”

Section: High Heat Flux Test Facility (Hhftf)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid Nitrogen Flow Boiling Critical Heat Flux in Additively Manufactured Cooling Channels

et al. 2023

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This paper presents an experimental characterization of liquid nitrogen (LN2) flow boiling in additively manufactured minichannels. There is a pressing need of concerted efforts from the space exploration and thermal transport communities to design high-performance rocket engine cooling channels. A close observation of the literature gaps warrants a systematic cryogenic flow boiling characterization of asymmetrically heated small (<3 mm) non-circular channels fabricated with advanced manufacturing technologies at mass flux > 3000 kg/m2s and pressure > 1 MPa. As such, this work presents the LN2 flow boiling results for three asymmetrically heated additively manufactured GR-Cop42 channels of 1.8 mm, 2.3 mm, and 2.5 mm hydraulic diameters. Twenty different tests have been performed at mass flux~3805–14,295 kg/m2s, pressures~1.38 and 1.59 MPa, and subcooling~0 and 5 K. A maximum departure from nucleate boiling (DNB)-type critical heat flux (CHF) of 768 kW/m2 has been achieved for the 1.8 mm channel. The experimental results show that CHF increases with increasing LN2 flow rate (337–459 kW/m2 at 25–57 cm3/s for 2.3 mm channel) and decreasing channel size (307–768 kW/m2 for 2.5–1.8 mm channel). Finally, an experimental DNB correlation has been developed with 10.68% mean absolute error.

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Section: High Heat Flux Test Facility (Hhftf)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid Nitrogen Flow Boiling Critical Heat Flux in Additively Manufactured Cooling Channels

et al. 2023

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“…The improvement of the understanding of the phenomena by means of dedicated sub-scale representative breadboards is recommended [15]. From the point of view of the numerical procedure, researchers still continue the work on behaviour characterization in near-critical conditions, deterioration mode conditions, and comparisons with engineering tools, as shown by [16][17][18][19][20]. The additive manufacturing process has become one of the technologies to be massively adopted in the near future.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The additive manufacturing process has become one of the technologies to be massively adopted in the near future. However, certain problems, which must addressed, are associated with the surface finishing of the cooling channels, since the cooling system walls can be affected by very high values of roughness and will require special treatments in the finishing of their surfaces [19]. The application of new methods, such as neural networks or machine learning approaches, to support design tools and the identification of the optimal configurations, are discussed in [21,22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

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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Metal Additive Manufacturing for Propulsion Applications

2022

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The Effect of Surface Roughness on LCH4 Boiling Heat Transfer Performance of Conventionally and Additively Manufactured Rocket Engine Regenerative Cooling Channels

Cited by 5 publications

References 7 publications

Liquid Nitrogen Flow Boiling Critical Heat Flux in Additively Manufactured Cooling Channels

Liquid Nitrogen Flow Boiling Critical Heat Flux in Additively Manufactured Cooling Channels

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

Metal Additive Manufacturing for Propulsion Applications

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