On the characterization of methane in rocket nozzle cooling channels
2020 (English)In: Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC, International Astronautical Federation, IAF , 2020Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
In recent years there has been a growing interest in methane as an alternative rocket fuel due to its favourable specific gravity, storage temperature and thermal stability in addition to its ability to support In-Situ Resource Utilization. Due to these properties methane supports the ongoing design trend of strategic reduction in system complexity and increase of reusability. The current work presents a first step in addressing the lack of information in open literature on the characteristics of methane under conditions found in rocket nozzle cooling channels i.e. elevated inflow temperature and a high single sided heat load. A new experimental facility has been established at KTH - Royal Institute of Technology in cooperation with GKN Aerospace, and as part of ESA's Future Launcher Preparatory Programme. This facility is shown to enable direct measurement of the Heat Transfer Coefficient (HTC) of methane under a range of conditions, with a limited uncertainty and good repeatability. For inflow temperatures of around 400 K, mass flows up to 15 g/s and pressures up to 30 bar, it has been observed that the effect of single sided heating results in a significant development of the flow field, which influences the heat transfer in second half of the test section. This development results in an increase of the HTC towards the end of the cooling channel. No significant effect of the pressure on the HTC has been observed under the current experimental conditions.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
International Astronautical Federation, IAF , 2020.
Keywords [en]
Heat transfer, Rocket nozzle, Super-critical methane, Cooling, Fuel storage, Methane, Reusability, Rockets, Uncertainty analysis, Development results, Direct measurement, Experimental conditions, Experimental facilities, Heat transfer coefficient (HTC), In-situ resource utilizations, Royal Institute of Technology, Storage temperatures, Rocket nozzles
National Category
Energy Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-302900Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85100947641OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-302900DiVA, id: diva2:1599999
Conference
71st International Astronautical Congress, IAC 2020, 12 October 2020 through 14 October 2020
Note
Not duplicate with DiVA 1582542
QC 20211003
2021-10-032021-10-032022-06-25Bibliographically approved