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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 289 records · Page 16

Design of Combustor for Long-range Ram-jet Engine and Performance of Rectangular Analog

The report describes the design of a piloted combustor intended for a ram-jet engine of long flight range. The unit comprises a large annular basket of V-type cross-section, the inner surface of which is slotted and bent into small V-gutters. At the trailing edge of the basket, eight V-gutters are used to propagate the flame into the main stream. A rectangular analog of this combustor was tested at air-flow conditions corresponding to those that might be obtained during cruise. At these conditions, combustion efficiencies of as much as 90 percent were calculated for the combustor at the design equivalence ratio of 0.52. The performance of the unit was relatively insensitive to mounting and flow variables; the greatest effect on efficiency was that of the manner and location of the fuel injection. A full-scale version of this combustor has been designed for a 48-inch-diameter engine.

ENGINES, RAM-JET - COMBUSTION CHAMBERS↗

Effect of Intense Sound Waves on a Stationary Gas Flame

Intense sound waves with a resonant frequency of 5000 cycles per second were imposed on a stationary propane-air flame issuing from a nozzle. In addition to a slight increase of the flame velocity, a fundamental change both in the shape of the burning zone and in the flow pattern could be observed. An attempt is made to explain the origin of the variations in the flame configuration on the basis of transition at the nozzle from jet flow to potential flow.

FLAME PROPAGATION - EFFECT OF SOUND WAVES↗

Modeling complex chemical effects in turbulent nonpremixed combustion

Virtually all of the energy derived from the consumption of combustibles occurs in systems which utilize turbulent fluid motion. Since combustion is largely related to the mixing of fluids and mixing processes are orders of magnitude more rapid when enhanced by turbulent motion, efficiency criteria dictate that chemically powered devices necessarily involve fluid turbulence. Where combustion occurs concurrently with mixing at an interface between two reactive fluid bodies, this mode of combustion is called nonpremixed combustion. This is distinct from premixed combustion where flame-fronts propagate into a homogeneous mixture of reactants. These two modes are limiting cases in the range of temporal lag between mixing of reactants and the onset of reaction. Nonpremixed combustion occurs where this lag tends to zero, while premixed combustion occurs where this lag tends to infinity. Many combustion processes are hybrids of these two extremes with finite non-zero lag times. Turbulent nonpremixed combustion is important from a practical standpoint because it occurs in gas fired boilers, furnaces, waste incinerators, diesel engines, gas turbine combustors, and afterburners etc. To a large extent, past development of these practical systems involved an empirical methodology. Presently, efficiency standards and emission regulations are being further tightened (Correa 1993), and empiricism has had to give way to more fundamental research in order to understand and effectively model practical combustion processes (Pope 1991). A key element in effective modeling of turbulent combustion is making use of a sufficiently detailed chemical kinetic mechanism. The prediction of pollutant emission such as oxides of nitrogen (NO(x)) and sulphur (SO(x)) unburned hydrocarbons, and particulates demands the use of detailed chemical mechanisms. It is essential that practical models for turbulent nonpremixed combustion are capable of handling large numbers of 'stiff' chemical species equations.

Smith, Nigel S. A.↗

Factors Affecting the Starting Characteristics of Gas-Turbine Engines

This report summarizes the effects of fuel volatility and engine design variables on the problem of starting gas-turbine engines at sea-level and altitude conditions. The starting operation for engines with tubular combustors is considered as three steps; namely, (1) ignition of a fuel-air mixture in the combustor, (2) propagation of flame through cross-fire tubes to all combustors, and (3) acceleration of the engine from windmilling or starting speed to the operating speed range. Pertinent data from laboratory researches, single-combustor studies, and full-scale engine investigations are presented on each phase of the starting problem.

Source record↗