Ignition enhancement by addition of NO and NO2 from a N2/O2 plasma torch in a supersonic flow

The effects of NO and NO₂ produced by using a plasma jet (PJ) of a N₂/O₂ mixture on ignition of hydrogen, methane, and ethylene in a supersonic airflow were experimentally and numerically investigated. Numerical analysis of ignition delay time showed that the addition of a small amount of NO or NO₂ drastically reduced ignition delay times of hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuels at a relatively low initial temperature. In particular, NO and NO₂ were more effective than O radicals for ignition of a CH₄/air mixture at 1200 K or lower. These ignition enhancement effects were examined by including the low temperature chemistry. Ignition tests by a N₂/O₂ PJ in a supersonic flow (M = 1.7) for using hydrogen, methane, and ethylene injected downstream of the PJ were conducted. The results showed that the ignitability of the N₂/O₂ PJ is affected by the composition of the feedstock and that pure O₂ is not the optimum condition for downstream fuel injection. This result of ignition tests with downstream fuel injection demonstrated a significant difference in ignition characteristics of the PJ from the ignition tests with upstream fuel injection.     

Upstream porthole injection in a 2-D scramjet model

Injection from portholes upstream of the combustion chamber was investigated as a method of delivering fuel into a scramjet. This method reduces the viscous drag on a model by allowing a reduction in the length of the combustion chamber. At experimental enthalpies of 3.0 MJ/kg in the T4 shock tunnel, there was no evidence of combustion in the intake, either by shadowgraph or pressure measurements. Combustion was observed in the combustion chamber. A theoretical extension of these results is made to a hot wall scenario. Received 2 January 2001 / Accepted 3 August 2001     

LES of supersonic combustion in a scramjet engine model

In this study, Large Eddy Simulation (LES) has been used to examine supersonic flow and combustion in a model scramjet combustor. The LES model is based on an unstructured finite volume discretization, using total variational diminishing flux reconstruction, of the filtered continuity, momentum, enthalpy, and passive/reactive scalar equations, used to describe the combustion process. The configuration used is similar to the laboratory scramjet at the Institute for Chemical Propulsion of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and consists of a one-sided divergent channel with a wedge-shaped flameholder at the base of which hydrogen is injected. Here, we investigate supersonic flow with hydrogen injection and supersonic flow with hydrogen injection and combustion. For the purpose of validation, the LES results are compared with experimental data for velocity and temperature at different cross-sections. In addition, qualitative comparisons are also made between predicted and measured shadowgraph images. The LES computations are capable of predicting both the non-reacting and reacting flowfields reasonably well—in particular we notice that the LES model identifies and differentiates between peculiarities of the flowfields found in the experiments.     

关于吸气式高超声速推进技术研究的思考

回顾了吸气式高超声速推进技术的研究进展, 分析了超燃冲压发动机研制面临的关键科学问题, 并从不同角度探讨了增大超燃冲压发动机推力的可能方法.这些方法包括: 能够降低总压损失的高超声速来流压缩方法、生成三维涡流的超声速混合增强技术、碳氢燃料的预热喷射、可以控制燃烧过程的燃烧室设计优化方法、通过减小发动机流道湿面积来降低摩擦阻力和催化复合解离的燃气降低高温气体效应.考虑到等压热力学循环的热效率,还建议研究在高超声速推进系统中应用热效率高的爆轰过程, 并探讨了爆轰推进方法研究的进展与问题.吸气式高超声速推进技术是高超声速飞行器发展的关键技术, 认真思考和探索其发展方向是非常必要的.      

Initiation of detonation by conical projectiles

Initiation of detonation by a hypersonic conical projectile launched into a combustible gas mixture is investigated. From analytic considerations of the flowfield, energetic and kinetic limits are proposed to predict the conditions required to initiate an oblique detonation wave in the mixture. To experimentally investigate these limits, projectiles with cone half angles varying from 15° to 60° were launched into a stoichiometric mixture of hydrogen/oxygen with 70% argon dilution at initial pressure between 10 and 200 kPa. The projectiles were launched from a combustion-driven gas gun at velocities as great as 2.5 km/s (corresponding to 150% of the Chapman Jouguet velocity). Pictures of the flowfields generated by the projectiles were taken via schlieren photography. Five combustion regimes could be observed about the projectile ranging from a prompt and delayed oblique detonation wave formation, combustion instabilities, a wave splitting, and an inert shock wave. The two theoretical limits provide a means to interpret the observed flowfield regimes and are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental results.     

Energy coupling mechanism for pulse detonation ignition of a scramjet cavity

The effect of detonation decoupling on the ignition capability of a pulse detonation igniter in a scramjet cavity is investigated. It was observed that a strongly coupled detonation is required for igniting a fueled cavity and the ignition capability rapidly decays for a weak or slightly decoupled detonation. The pulse detonation igniter pressure and wave speed were measured at subatmospheric pressure to characterize the pressure and fill characteristics dependence on backpressure. Temperatures measurements using 100 kHz H₂O absorption measurements showed an increase in peak temperature for critically filled conditions but a decrease in bulk fluid temperature with decreasing fill time. Simultaneous schlieren and chemiluminescence measurements demonstrate that a fully coupled detonation entrains greater quantities of high-temperature and reacting fluid in the vortex formed on the edges of the detonation plume, enhancing the mixing and spreading of products into the cavity. This shedding of high-temperature intermediate species is the primary mechanism governing successful ignition in the scramjet cavity.     

Effects of dual jets distance on mixing characteristics and flow path within a cavity in supersonic crossflow

A rectangular open cavity with upstream dual injectors at a freestream Mach number of 1.9 was investigated experimentally. To evaluate the effect of the distance between the jets, the flow characteristics were investigated using the high-speed schlieren photography, particle image velocimetry, and surface oil flow techniques. The dual jet distances of 18 and 54 mm were used. Unstable flow occurs over the cavity in all cases and is not improved by changing the distance between the dual jets. Although the distance between the dual jets does not influence the flow stability, the flow field varies decidedly depending on the dual jets distance. The enhancement of air mixing depends on the distance between the jets. A long dual jets distance was found to yield better mixing characteristics within the cavity than a short one. When the jets are further apart, the mainstream between two counter-rotating vortex pairs behind the jets flows strongly into the cavity because of the increased blow-down occurring between the vortex pairs. Additionally, a counterflow with a low velocity magnitude occurs behind the jets. Hence, mixing is enhanced within the cavity by effects of the opposed flow. When the jet pairs are closer to each other, the counter-rotating vortex pairs are in contact; as a result, the blow-down effect does not occur between them. The flow drawn into the cavity from the mainstream is supplied from the sides of the test section into the cavity.     

Ignition in a supersonic flow by a plasma jet of mixed feedstock including CH4

Ignition tests of hydrocarbon fuels in a supersonic airflow by plasma jet (PJ) torches of mixed feedstock, including methane (CH₄), such as N₂/CH₄ and N₂/CH₄/O₂ mixtures, were conducted. The Mach number of the airflow was 2.0, and the total temperature and total pressure of the main flow were those of room conditions. The wall pressure increase due to combustion of hydrocarbon fuels for the N₂/CH₄ PJ exceeded those of pure O₂ and N₂ PJs at high electric power input. Equilibrium calculations showed that the main species in high-temperature PJ, aside from N₂, were H₂, H, and HCN. Considering the slight impact of the HCN species on ignition delay time, the combustion enhancement by the N₂/CH₄ PJ was caused primarily by the existence of a large amount of H and H₂ dissociated from CH₄ molecules in the PJ. Moreover, the addition of O₂ to the N₂/CH₄ feedstock further enhanced the combustion and stability of the N₂/CH₄ PJ. The existence of O₂ increased the temperature and the number of H radicals in the PJ exhaust.     

Combustion characteristics of a dual-mode scramjet combustor with cavity flameholder

Combustion characteristics of a laboratory dual-mode ramjet/scramjet combustor were studied experimentally. The combustor consists of a sonic fuel jet injected into a supersonic crossflow upstream of a wall cavity pilot flame. These fundamental components are contained in many dual-mode combustor designs. Experiments were performed with an isolator entrance Mach number of 2.2. Air stagnation temperatures were varied from 1040 to 1490 K, which correspond to flight Mach numbers of 4.3–5.4. Both pure hydrogen and a mixture of hydrogen and ethylene fuels were used. High speed imaging of the flame luminosity was performed along with measurements of the isolator and combustor wall pressures. For ramjet mode operation, two distinct combustion stabilization locations were found for fuel injection a sufficient distance upstream of the cavity. At low T₀, the combustion was anchored at the leading edge of the cavity by heat release in the cavity shear layer. At high T₀, the combustion was stabilized a short distance downstream of the fuel injection jet in the jet-wake. For an intermediate range of T₀, the reaction zone oscillated between the jet-wake and cavity stabilization locations. Wall pressure measurements showed that cavity stabilized combustion was the steadiest, followed by jet-wake stabilized, and the oscillatory case. For fuel injection close to the cavity, a hybrid stabilization mode was found in which the reaction zone locations for the two stabilization modes overlapped. For this hybrid stabilization, cavity fueling rate was an important factor in the steadiness of the flow field. Scramjet mode combustion was found to only exist in the cavity stabilized location for the conditions studied.     

空气污染组分H2O和CO2对乙烯燃烧性能的影响

超燃冲压发动机在高空工作时, 以高温高速纯净空气作氧化剂使燃料燃烧. 但在地面实验中, 高温空气往往通过燃烧加热方式获得, 从而使空气包含了H2O和CO2污染组分. 本文用电阻加热来流空气并添加污染组分的方法, 研究了燃烧室模型中乙烯的燃烧状态和壁面压力受污染组分的影响. 用化学反应动力学模拟的方法, 在绝热刚性反应器模型中用H2O和CO2取代空气中的N2, 研究了污染组分对点火延迟和燃烧温度的影响, 并从链反应机理的角度讨论了实验和动力学模拟结果.