Heat Transfer Measurements in an Elevated Pressure RDRE Combustor
Daniel Micka, Gregory Daines, Jonathan Sosa, Robert F. Burke, Kareem A. Ahmed, Eric J. Paulson, John W. Bennewitz, Stephen Danczyk, William A. Hargus
Abstract
View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2021-3685.vid Rotating Detonation Rocket Engines (RDREs) have the potential to increase performance and lower the cost of launch vehicles by harnessing the benefits of pressure gain combustion. Thermal management and modelling in RDREs is challenging due to the high heat transfer rates and complex heat transfer process. In this study, we made quantitative heat measurements in a laboratory RDRE operating at elevated chamber pressures (CTAP up to 173 psia) with GOX-GH2 and GOX-GCH4 propellants. We found the highest heat flux near the propellant injectors (up to 25 MW/m2). The heat flux near the injectors (detonation cell region) does not follow the mass flux scaling of the traditional Bartz equation. The heat flux in the downstream combustor region does follow the mass flux scaling of the traditional Bartz equation for heat flux in constant pressure combustion rocket engines.