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Igniters for Liquid Oxygen/Liquid Methane Technology DevelopmentAs part of NASA's technology development of liquid methane / liquid oxygen engines for future exploration missions, two different igniters were recently studied at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The first igniter tested was an impinging injection, spark-initiated torch igniter, and the second was a microwave-generated plasma igniter. The purpose of the ignition tests was to define the ignition limits under vacuum conditions and characterize the transient start-up performance as a function of propellant mixture ratio (MR), mass flow rates, inlet temperatures, and pre-ignition chamber pressure. In addition, for the impinging igniter two different spark plugs were tested, and for the microwave igniter the magnetron filament warm-up time and the magnetron input power were both varied. The results gathered from these tests indicated that the impinging igniter is capable of operating over an MR range of 2 - 27, with methane and oxygen inlet temperatures as low as -161 F and -233 F, respectively. The microwave igniter was tested over an MR range of 2 - 9, with methane and oxygen inlet temperatures as low as -90 F and -200 F, respectively. The microwave igniter achieved ignition over this range, although an upper ignition limit was determined for the oxidizer mass flow rate. In general, the torch exhaust temperatures for the microwave igniter were not as high as those attained with the impinging igniter. The microwave igniter, however, was hot-fired 17 times and was still operational, whereas the impinging igniter spark plugs experienced thermal shock and erosion over nine hot-fire tests. It was concluded that for the microwave igniter better mixing of the propellants might be required in order to both raise the torch exhaust temperature and decrease the required magnetron input power, and for the impinging igniter the spark plug position within the igniter chamber should be varied in future tests to identify a more optimal location. All of the igniter tests were supported by the Propulsion & Cryogenics Advanced Development project, which is part of NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program.
Document ID
20100011331
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Osborne, Robin J.
(Engineering Research and Consulting, Inc. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Elam, Sandra K.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Peschel, William P.
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
December 8, 2008
Subject Category
Mechanical Engineering
Report/Patent Number
MSFC-2181
Meeting Information
Meeting: JANNAF''s 6th Modeling and Simulation/4th Liquid Propulsion/3rd Spacecraft Propulsion Joint Subcommittee Meeting
Location: Orlando, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: December 8, 2008
End Date: December 12, 2008
Sponsors: Department of the Air Force, Department of the Navy, NASA Headquarters, Department of the Army
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNM05AB50C
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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