A rising demand for efficient and reusable rocket engines leads to the development of a new generation of methane fueled rocket engines. The most crucial part is the optimal design of the cooling system, with minimal hydrodynamic losses. Therefore a precise knowledge of the heat transfer processes in the combustion chamber and primarily in the cooling channels is necessary. Cooling channels with a high aspect ratio (height-to-width-ratio) in a wall material with high thermal conductivity are known to improve cooling efficiency with only moderate increase in hydrodynamic losses. In this paper tests will be presented, that were performed with a cylindrical combustion chamber. This chamber is divided into 4 sections around the circumference, each containing cooling channels with different aspect ratios (1.7, 3.5, 9.2 and 30). Cryogenic hydrogen and liquid methane at temperatures as low as 60 K for hydrogen and 130 K for methane respectively were used as cooling fluids. Results show a distinct thermal stratification for both coolants and a very high influence of changing fluid properties close to the critical point for methane.
Experimental Investigations of Heat Transfer Processes in Cooling Channels for Cryogenic Hydrogen and Methane at Supercritical Pressure
Lect.Notes Mechanical Engineering
International Seminar on Non-Ideal Compressible-Fluid Dynamics for Propulsion & Power ; 2018 ; Bochum, Germany October 04, 2018 - October 05, 2018
09.07.2020
14 pages
Aufsatz/Kapitel (Buch)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch