NASA flow fields analysis

Abstract

The objectives of the present research are to improve design capabilities for low thrust rocket engines through understanding the detailed mixing and combustion processes in a representative combustor. Of particular interest is a small gaseous hydrogen-oxygen thruster which is considered as a coordinated part of an on-going experimental program at NASA LERC. Detailed computational modeling involves the solution of both the two- and three-dimensional Navier Stokes equations, coupled with chemical reactions and the species diffusion equations. Computations of interest include both steady state and time-accurate flowfields and are obtained by means of LU approximate factorization in time and flux split upwinding differencing in space. The emphasis in the research is focused on using numerical analysis to understand detailed combustor flowfields, including the shear layer dynamics created between fuel film cooling and the core gas in the vicinity on the nearby combustor wall; the integrity and effectiveness of the coolant film; and three-dimensional fuel and oxidizer jet injection/mixing/combustion characteristics in the primary combustor along with their joint impacts on global engine performance.