Cold Acoustic Tests for the Elucidation of the Gap of Optimal Damping Capacity of Baffled Injectors in Liquid Rocket Combustors

Cold acoustic tests have been performed to elucidate the effect of baffle gaps on the optimal damping characteristics in a liquid rocket combustor where coaxial injectors are installed. For several axial baffle lengths, an optimal acoustic damping capacitance has been achieved in a certain gap range. Cold acoustic tests for simulating fluid viscosity by changing the pressure in a model chamber have been done to study the main mechanism of optimal damping. Experimental data have shown that the optimal gap for high damping capacity exists mainly due to the viscosity near the gap of baffles. Therefore, axial baffle length can be reduced by using the optimal baffle gap, providing a possible solution of thermal cooling problems. Also, these optimum characteristics can be some guidelines for manufacturing and assembling injectors in full-scaled rocket combustors.