Simulation of Combustion in a Hybrid Rocket Engine
2023 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
A numerical investigation on the combustion mechanics of a hybrid rocket engine is performed through unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulation. The hybrid rocket engine model is based on an experimental laboratory scale engine design operating on GOX and HDPE as a propellant. A simple convection heat flux model is used to determine the heat transfer to the fuel wall. The project is done with the goal of finding the fuel regression rate in mind, as it is an essential parameter for determining engine performance. The results show early results of the fluid- and thermodynamics occurring in the combustion chamber. Propellant mixing is shown to not be optimal as a significant part of the exit flow consists of high concentrations of oxidizer that has not reacted with the fuel. The flame temperature is shown to be relatively high inside the combustion chamber. It is concluded from the simulations that the model needs further improvement in order to accurately compute the flow as well as the heat transfer to the fuel. To determine the regression rate, radiation should be implemented into the heat transfer model.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2023.
Series
TRITA-SCI-GRU ; 2023:035
Keywords [en]
Thesis, Hybrid Rocket Engine, CFD, computational fluid dynamics, combustion
National Category
Engineering and Technology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-326696OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-326696DiVA, id: diva2:1755642
External cooperation
FOI
Educational program
Master of Science in Engineering - Vehicle Engineering
Supervisors
Examiners
2023-05-092023-05-092023-05-09Bibliographically approved