Computational Study on Influence of Water Injection Angle to Aluminum/Water Reaction Motor

Abstract:

In Aluminum/Water Reaction Motor chamber, water injection angle plays an important role on mixture of aluminum particle fuel and water droplets and can affect motor performance further. On the basis of FLUENT software and taking phase transition and reaction between water droplets and aluminum particles into account, numerically simulated cases of different water injection angles by Particle Stochastic Trajectory Model. Computed total evaporation rate of water droplets, reaction rate of aluminum particles and specific impulse for the motor. Furthermore judged injection angle effect from these parameters. By comparison and analysis, it is found that hybrid injection case could get best multi-phase mixture effect and specific impulse performance for the motor. Namely axial injection angle with 45°in the main chamber and tangential injection angle with 60°in the afterburning chamber is the best case. The conclusion could provide a new idea for motor working process design.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volume 248)
• Pages: 539-544
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.248.539
• Online since: December 2012
• Authors: Zheng He, Xuan Gu, Ye Gao
• Keywords: Aluminum/Water Reaction Motor, Axial Injection Angle, Evaporation Rate, Phase Transition, Tangential Injection Angle, Water Injection Angle

References

[1] ZHA Zhi-wu. A Summary of Development in Torpedo Power Technologies. Torpedl Tochnology, 13 (2005) 1-4.

[2] Timothy F. Miller and John D. Herr. Green Rocket Propulsion by Reaction of Al and Mg Powders and Water, 40th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit Fort Lauderdale, Florida, (2004).

DOI: 10.2514/6.2004-4037

[3] Foote, J. P., Thompson, B. R., and Lineberry, J. T. Combustion of Aluminum with Steam for Underwater Propulsion. Advances in Chem. Propulsion, ed. G. Roy, ISBN 0-8493-1171-3, (2002).

DOI: 10.1201/9781420040685.ch8

[4] Miller, T. F. Comparisons of Simulation and Experiment in a Linear Al/Steam Combustor. 36th JANNAF Combustion Meeting, Cocoa Beach, FL, (1999).

[5] W.E. Ranz, W.R. Marshall. Evaporation from Drops. Part I. Chem. Eng. Prog. 48 (1952) 141-146.

[6] K.K.Y. Kuo. Principles of Combustion. New York Publishing Corporation, New York, (1986).

[7] LI Fang, ZHANG Wei-hua. A Preliminary Research on the Performance of Hydroreactive Aluminium Metal Fuel. Journal of National University of Defense Technology. 27 (2005), 4-7.

[8] Widener J.F., Liang, Y, Beckstead, M.W. Aluminum Combustion Modeling In Solid Propellant Environments. AIAA-98-0449, 1999, pp.31-35.

DOI: 10.2514/6.1999-2629

[9] H.K. Versteeg, W. Malalasekera. An introduction to computational fluid dynamics：The finite volume method. Harlow : Addison Wesley Longman, (1995).

[10] LI Fang; ZHANG Wei-hua; XIA Zhi-xun. Numerical Simulation of 2-Dimensional Multi-Phase Reaction Flow in Water/Metal Fuel Motor". Journal of Combustion Science and Technology. 13(2007) 554-557.

[11] Xu Xu, Zhang Zhongqin. A DEVELOPMENT ON ROCKET MOTOR THERMODYNAMIC CALCULATION SOFTWARE. Journal of Propulsion Technology. 11(1995) 21-25.

[12] GAO Ye, HE Zheng, LIU Ping-an. Comparison of fuel energy characteristics for supercavitation propulsion engine. Journal of Solid Rocket Technology. 32(2009) 27–32.