High Temperature Valve Research

High speed airbreathing engines of the future will operate in the higher Mach regions of hypersonic flight (M>4) where aerodynamic heating is too great for conventional structural materials to survive without active cooling. The liquid fuels used in these engines must, therefore, have a good heat-of-combustion, and provide the necessary heat sink for an active cooling system. This program seeks to design, fabricate, and test the performance of a high temperature, high speed, liquid fuel control valve to Government performance requirements. In the valve approach proposed, the control of fuel flow rate is achieved by varying pintle tip axial position relative to a fixed orifice which in turn varies the flow area of the valve. Phase I will involve the design, fabrication, and testing of a prototype valve based on established high-performance Government requirements. Phase II will carry-out minimum size construction of both the fuel valve and its control electronics. A limited production run of five units will be fabricated, and multiple tests will be accomplished to document valve performance throughout the lot. Various duty cycles, source pressures, fuels, and fuel temperatures will be used to document valve pressure drop, fuel flow capacity, and flow linearity with pintle position.