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A study of the spray of a swirl coaxial gas-liquid injector operating at high gas to liquid momentum ratios is reported. Mixing and droplet size characteristics of the swirl injector are also compared to a shear coaxial injector, currently being used in the Space Shuttle Main Engine fuel preburner. The injectors were tested at elevated chamber pressures using water as a LOX simulant and nitrogen and helium as gaseous hydrogen simulants. The elevated chamber pressure allowed for matching of several of the preburner injector conditions including; gas to liquid momentum ratio, density ratio and Mach number. Diagnostic techniques used to characterize the spray included; strobe back-light imaging, laser sheet spray imaging, mechanical patternation, and a phase Doppler interferometry. Results thus far indicate that the radial spreading of the swirl coaxial spray is much less than was reported in previous studies of swirl injectors operating at atmospheric back-pressure. The swirl coaxial spray does, however, exhibit a smaller overall droplet size which may be interpreted as an increase in local mixing.

Time-accurate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) algorithms are among the basic requirements as an engineering or research tool for realistic simulations of transient combustion phenomena, such as combustion instability, transient start-up, etc., inside the rocket engine combustion chamber. A time-accurate pressure based method is employed in the FDNS code for combustion model development. This is in connection with other program development activities such as spray combustion model development and efficient finite-rate chemistry solution method implementation. In the present study, a second-order time-accurate time-marching scheme is employed. For better spatial resolutions near discontinuities (e.g., shocks, contact discontinuities), a 3rd-order accurate TVD scheme for modeling the convection terms is implemented in the FDNS code. Necessary modification to the predictor/multi-corrector solution algorithm in order to maintain time-accurate wave propagation is also investigated. Benchmark 1-D and multidimensional test cases, which include the classical shock tube wave propagation problems, resonant pipe test case, unsteady flow development of a blast tube test case, and H2/O2 rocket engine chamber combustion start-up transient simulation, etc., are investigated to validate and demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the present numerical scheme and solution algorithm.

The paper describes three experimental facilities which are being developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) for rocket injector cold-flow characterization. The first of these is an already operational cold-flow ambient-backpressure facility, which uses water and air to simulate LOX and gaseous hydrogen, respectively; the facility can be used to obtain discharge coefficients, to measure flow uniformity, and to develop diagnostic techniques for use in the high-backpressure cold-flow chamber that is being currently developed at MSFC. The second is a cold-flow acrylic model facility to be used for evaluating the effect of changes in the internal flow geometry on the performance and combustion stability characteristics of a swirl coaxial LOX post. The third is a high-pressure cold-flow facility to be used for the characterization of the injector elements' performance; a specific application is to determine the effect of swirl elements on the temperature striations in the SSME preburners.

The testing of the combustion stability characteristics of Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) 0208 is described in terms of augmenting the technology base for large O/H thrust-chamber assemblies. The throat area is increased by 12 percent over that of the flight SSMEs, and the thrust chamber assembly does not include stability aids. Acoustic modes in the chamber are excited by means of rapid pressure generators employed in the start-transient through mainstage operations. Stability characteristics are determined by damp times which are facilitated by high-frequency instrumentation measuring oscillations and locating stable operating regions. All vibration modes are damped to within the requirements for a chamber mode set forth by the Chemical Propulsion Information Agency. No sustained chamber acoustic oscillations are exhibited in engine 0208's combustion chamber configuration in spite of the absence of baffles and acoustic cavities.

Convergent finite element equations for dynamic stability of plates dependent on vibration and buckling modes

Water-base coatings containing potassium silicate show improvement in areas of quick air-drying, crack, craze, and abrasion resistance, adherence, and leach resistance. Coatings are useful as thermal-barrier layers in furnaces, and as general purpose fire resistant surfaces where vapor impermeability is not a requirement.