Modification of a cryogenic rocket combustor informed by transcritical oxygen-methane combustion modelling

Abstract

A priori modelling of transcritical injection and combustion of cryogenic oxygen and methane was used to prepare the geometry and operating conditions of experiments with a single-injector research rocket combustor at conditions relevant for main- and upper-stage rocket engines. The choice of Reynolds averaged Naiver Stokes solver, a two-dimensional, axisymmetric domain, and flamelet combustion model 4th International Seminar on Non-Ideal Compressible Fluid Dynamics minimised computational resources, allowing a parametric study to be performed. Varying the relative injection flow rates of the shear coaxial injector and cooling film in the model allowed the interaction of the two streams to be minimised later in the experiment. Prediction of the length of the diffusion flame was used to adapt the length of the combustion chamber in the experiment to minimise incomplete combustion.