Integrated Measurement System for Characterizing Advanced Propulsion Combustors

The proposed Phase II program targets the development of an integrated measurement system for characterizing advanced propulsion combustors. Key to this system will be the use of simulation and modeling in conjunction with the development of advancedinstrumentation. The modeling program will be conducted in two parts. First, a combustor kinetics code will be implemented to predict performance and emissions when the combustor is burning jet fuel and air, with calculations being applied both to thecombustion tube of a pulse-detonation engine and to a high-equivalence-ratio gas-turbine combustor. Second, a multi-dimensional computational code will be implemented to study important spatial and temporal behavior of relevance to instrumentation designand application. Advanced instrumentation will also be demonstrated after the most relevant techniques have been selected. Based on the success of our Phase I results in the combustor section of a production gas-turbine, a ruggedized, multi-pump CARSinstrument will be sonstructed and demonstrated for measuring pressure, temperature, and mole fractions of species such as N2, CO2, H2, and O2. A fiber-optic-based probe will be constructed and demonstrated for the measurement of concentrations of keypollutants, including NO and CO. Rugged instruments will be designed to minimize size and required optical access.