Experimental Study of Pyrolysis-Combustion Coupling in a Regeneratively Cooled Combustor: System Dynamics Analysis

Taddeo Lucio (1, 2) , Nicolas Gascoin (1, 2) , Khaled Chetehouna (3) , Antonella Ingenito (4) , Fulvio Stella (4) , Marc Bouchez (4) , Bruno Le Naour (4)

1 PRISME - Laboratoire Pluridisciplinaire de Recherche en Ingénierie des Systèmes, Mécanique et Energétique
2 INSA CVL - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - Centre Val de Loire
3 F2ME
4 MBDA - MBDA

Scramjets are suitable for hypersonic flight, but their use requires the ability to ensure their thermal protection. In this context, a remotely controlled fuel-cooled combustor, suitable for the experimental analysis of the pyrolysis-combustion coupling characterizing a regeneratively cooled combustion chamber when a hydrocarbon propellant is used, has been designed. Similitude rules were used. Ethylene is used as fuel, air as oxidizer, with an equivalence ratio between 1.0 and 1.5 and a fuel injection pressure between 1 and 10 bar. Experiments are realized by varying operating conditions, to determine their impact on combustor heat transfer dynamics. Previous numerical results have been confirmed. A hysteresis effect has been demonstrated. It has been observed that system response time to fuel mass flow rate increases is lower (of about 40 to 50%) than system response time to fuel mass flow rate decreases and that a rise in equivalence ratio from 1.0 to 1.25 produces an increase in system response intensity that is, following the operating conditions, in the range from 90% to 170%. It has also been seen that an increase in equivalence ratio from 1.0 to 1.5 produces a raise of the temperature of the fuel-coolant (of about 40 to 50%), due to the increase in the emissivity of the flame.

Domaines: Chimie analytique; Génie des procédés; Milieux fluides et réactifs; Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]

Taddeo Lucio, Nicolas Gascoin, Khaled Chetehouna, Antonella Ingenito, Fulvio Stella, et al.. Experimental Study of Pyrolysis-Combustion Coupling in a Regeneratively Cooled Combustor: System Dynamics Analysis. Aerospace Science and Technology, 2017, ⟨10.1016/j.ast.2017.04.026⟩. ⟨hal-01570491⟩