COMBUSTION PROCESSES IN SPACE STORABLE LIQUID ROCKET ENGINES

THE EXHAUST FROM NTO/MMH FUEL RICH GAS GENERATORS (GG) ARE KNOWN TO CONTAIN A LARGE FRACTION OF AMMONIA. THIS PHENOMENON MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO ACTIVELY COOL A ROCKET NOZZLE WALL USING THE ENDOTHERMIC DECOMPOSITION OF AMMONIA. A REALISTIC ANALYSIS OF THIS COMBUSTION PROCESS IS TO BE DEVELOPED WHICH INCLUDES ROCKET NOZZLE FLOW WITH FINITE RATE CHEMICAL KINETICS AND THE TANGENTIAL SLOT INJECTION OF GG EXHAUST. THE ANALYSIS IS TO BE APPLIED TO PUMP FED LIQUID ROCKET SPACE ENGINES OPERATING WITH STORABLE PROPELLANTS. THE EFFECT ON WALL HEAT TRANSFER AND ENGINE PERFORMANCE ARE TO BE STUDIED. EFFECTS TO BE INVESTIGATED INCLUDE THOSE OBTAINED BY VARYING THE GAS GENERATOR MIXTURE RATIO AND MASS FLOW RATE. A PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT IS TO OBTAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE PLAYED BY AMMONIA DECOMPOSITION IN THE BOUNDARY LAYER DOWNSTREAM OF THE INJECTION POSITION. RECOMMENDATIONS ARE TO BE MADE FOR IMPROVED ENGINE DESIGN.