Pulsed Injection of Enhanced Energetic Fuels for Performance Optimization

Combustion instability can adversely affect propulsion system performance, generate noise and vibration, and shorten hardware life. Its control represents an ongoing challenge in combustion system design. EERGC Corporation, in cooperation with subcontractors Energy Research Consultants (ERC), and Northrop Grumman (NG), proposes to reduce combustion instability and enhance performance of chemical propulsion systems by controlled pulsed injection of a gelled liquid secondary fuel loaded with energetic solids. The fuel will be delivered into a combustor via pulsed injection at quantities sufficient to assert control authority, and the pulsing will be optimized with respect to the phase and frequency of natural combustor oscillations to minimize their amplitude and/or enhance combustor performance. This work builds upon prior EERGC work in intelligent pulsed combustion control; by EERGC in collaboration with NG, developing gelled fuel formulations loaded with energetic solids. It represents an innovative fusion of these different technical endeavors and forwards the state of the art in both. The Phase I program will provide proof-of-concept by developing a suitable stable energetic gelled fuel, showing that it can be atomized without clogging the injectors and can be reliably and controllably pulsed, and providing a laboratory demonstration that fuel pulsing can affect combustion instability.