Advanced Combustion Stability Analysis Tools for Ox-rich Preburners

The goal of this SBIR is the enhancement of the current state-of-the-art combustion instability analysis tools.  The planned enhancement is focused on capturing the effects of injection element distribution and the inclusion of substantial film cooling and diluent injection.  These characteristics are extremely important in the design of high-pressure oxygen rich staged combustion (ORSC) engines.  The requirement for the preburner to mix all the oxidizer with only a small amount of fuel invariably results in the use of a combination of oxidizer film cooling and secondary diluent injection.  Current combustion stability models cannot account for the effect of these design features.  Injection element distribution and film cooling have also been shown to be important in stabilizing Russian ORSC engines. BENEFITS: The improved stability model has the potential to dramatically reduce the design-build-test cycles required to successfully develop both large staged combustion engines and a range of other liquid rocket engine concepts.  Sierra Engineering is already a leading developer of combustion stability analysis tools.  These enhancements will further solidify our position as the preeminent analysis software provider, and we will continue to provide state-of-the-art stability analysis for a range of government and commercial customers.