LOX droplet vaporization in a supercritical forced convective environment

Modern liquid rocket engines often use liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2) as propellants to achieve high performance, with the engine operational conditions in the supercritical regimes of the propellants. Once the propellant exceeds its critical state, it essentially becomes a puff of dense fluid. The entire field becomes a continuous medium, and no distinct interfacial boundary between the liquid and gas exists. Although several studies have been undertaken to investigate the supercritical droplet behavior at quiescent conditions, very little effort has been made to address the fundamental mechanisms associated with LOX droplet vaporization in a supercritical, forced convective environment. The purpose is to establish a theoretical framework within which supercritical droplet dynamics and vaporization can be studied systematically by means of an efficient and robust numerical algorithm.