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Metallized Gelled Propellants: Oxygen/RP-1/Aluminum Rocket Heat Transfer and Combustion MeasurementsA series of rocket engine heat transfer experiments using metallized gelled liquid propellants was conducted. These experiments used a small 20- to 40-lb/f thrust engine composed of a modular injector, igniter, chamber and nozzle. The fuels used were traditional liquid RP-1 and gelled RP-1 with 0-, 5-, and 55-percentage by weight loadings of aluminum particles. Gaseous oxygen was used as the oxidizer. Three different injectors were used during the testing: one for the baseline O(2)/RP-1 tests and two for the gelled and metallized gelled fuel firings. Heat transfer measurements were made with a rocket engine calorimeter chamber and nozzle with a total of 31 cooling channels. Each chamber used a water flow to carry heat away from the chamber and the attached thermocouples and flow meters allowed heat flux estimates at each of the 31 stations. The rocket engine Cstar efficiency for the RP-1 fuel was in the 65-69 percent range, while the gelled 0 percent by weight RP-1 and the 5-percent by weight RP-1 exhibited a Cstar efficiency range of 60 to 62% and 65 to 67%, respectively. The 55-percent by weight RP-1 fuel delivered a 42-47% Cstar efficiency. Comparisons of the heat flux and temperature profiles of the RP-1 and the metallized gelled RP-1/A1 fuels show that the peak nozzle heat fluxes with the metallized gelled O2/RP-1/A1 propellants are substantially higher than the baseline O2/RP-1: up to double the flux for the 55 percent by weight RP-1/A1 over the RP-1 fuel. Analyses showed that the heat transfer to the wall was significantly different for the RP-1/A1 at 55-percent by weight versus the RP-1 fuel. Also, a gellant and an aluminum combustion delay was inferred in the 0 percent and 5-percent by weight RP-1/A1 cases from the decrease in heat flux in the first part of the chamber. A large decrease in heat flux in the last half of the chamber was caused by fuel deposition in the chamber and nozzle. The engine combustion occurred well downstream of the injector face based on the heat flux estimates from the temperature measurements.
Document ID
19960045830
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Palaszewski, Bryan
(NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH United States)
Zakany, James S.
(NYMA, Inc. Brook Park, OH United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
August 1, 1996
Subject Category
Propellants And Fuels
Report/Patent Number
AIAA Paper 96-2622
E-10400
NASA-TM-107309
NAS 1.15:107309
Meeting Information
Meeting: Joint Propulsion Conference
Location: Lake Buena Vista, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: July 1, 1996
End Date: July 3, 1996
Sponsors: American Society for Electrical Engineers, American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
Accession Number
96N32698
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS3-27186
PROJECT: RTOP 252-50-01
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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