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Results for trajectory analysis, fuel analysis, and analysis of aerobraking maneuvers are presented. Calculations are included for thickness and mass of the propellant tanks; determination of weight (avionics module); numerical integration program; hydrostatic pressure due to acceleration; and propellant tank pressurization.
Fuel spray analyses which are a necessary input to the analytical modeling of the complex mixing and combustion processes which occur in advanced combustor systems are discussed. It is anticipated that by controlling fuel air reaction conditions, combustor temperatures can be better controlled, leading to improved combustion system durability. The capability to measure liquid droplet size, velocity, and number density throughout a fuel spray and to utilize this measurement technique in laboratory benchmark experiments was demonstrated. The experiment to characterize fuel sprays is described. The experiments and data are useful for application to and validation of turbulent flow modeling to improve the design systems of future advanced technology engines.
Detailed fuel spray analyses are a necessary input to the analytical modeling of the complex mixing and combustion processes which occur in advanced combustor systems. It is anticipated that by controlling fuel-air reaction conditions, combustor temperatures can be better controlled, leading to improved combustion system durability. Thus, a research program is underway to demonstrate the capability to measure liquid droplet size, velocity, and number density throughout a fuel spray and to utilize this measurement technique in laboratory benchmark experiments. The research activities from two contracts and one grant are described with results to data. The experiment to characterize fuel sprays is also described. These experiments and data should be useful for application to and validation of turbulent flow modeling to improve the design systems of future advanced technology engines.
Near-optimum guidance and analysis of fuel penalty - explicit solution of linear equations of motion to obtain deviations in end conditions and additional burning time
Fuels research studies carried out in a variety of areas related to aviation propulsion, ground transportation, and stationary power generation systems are discussed. The major efforts are directed to studies on fuels for jet aircraft. These studies involve fuels preparation, fuels analysis, and fuel quality evaluations. The scope and direction of research activities in these areas is discussed, descriptions of Lewis capabilities and facilities given, and results of recent research efforts reported.
Topics addressed include: guidelines for the Space Transportation System (STS) payload deployer design; mini-orbital maneuvering vehicle (MOMV) design: shuttle tether deployer systems (STEDS); cost modeling; tethered platform analysis; fuel savings analysis; and STEDS control simulation.
A simple one-dimensional drop-life-history analysis and a multidimensional spray calculation using KIVA-II code are applied to the vaporization of Jet-A fuel in multiple tube injectors. Within the assumptions of the analysis, the one-dimensional results are useful for design purposes. The pressure-atomizer breakup models do not accurately predict the dropsize measured experimentally or deduced from the one-dimensional analysis. Cold flow visualization and dropsize measurements show that capillary wave breakup mechanism plays an important role in the spray angle and droplet impingement on the tube wall.
Fuel loading requirements and neutron energy spectrum prediction for fast lithium cooled reactor with molybdenum-reflected critical assembly
An analytical study was performed in order to assess relative performance and economic factors involved with alternative advanced fuel systems for future commercial aircraft operating with broad property fuels. Significant results, with emphasis on design practicality from the engine manufacturer' standpoint, are highlighted. Several advanced fuel systems were modeled to determine as accurately as possible the relative merits of each system from the standpoint of compatibility with broad property fuel. Freezing point, thermal stability, and lubricity were key property issues. A computer model was formulated to determine the investment incentive for each system. Results are given.
Heat transfer problems of a heterogeneous gaseous core nuclear rocket were studied. The reactor core consists of 1.5-m long hexagonal fuel assemblies filled with pressurized uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) gas. The fuel gas temperature ranges from 3500 to 7000 K at a nominal operating condition of 40 atm. Each fuel assembly has seven coolant tubes, through which hydrogen propellant flows. The propellant temperature is not constrained by the fuel temperature but by the maximum temperature of the graphite coolant tube. For a core achieving a fission power density of 1000 MW/cu m, the propellant core exit temperature can be as high as 3200 K. The physical size of a 1250 MW gaseous core nuclear rocket is comparable with that of a NERVA-type solid core nuclear rocket. The engine can deliver a specific impulse of 1020 seconds and a thrust of 330 kN.
Requirements to limit pollutant emissions from the gas turbine engines for the future High-Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) have led to consideration of various low-emission combustor concepts. One such concept is the Integrated Mixer-Flame Holder (IMFH). This report describes a series of IMFH analyses performed with KIVA-II, a multi-dimensional CFD code for problems involving sprays, turbulence, and combustion. To meet the needs of this study, KIVA-II's boundary condition and chemistry treatments are modified. The study itself examines the relationships between fuel vaporization, fuel-air mixing, and combustion. Parameters being considered include: mixer tube diameter, mixer tube length, mixer tube geometry (converging-diverging versus straight walls), air inlet velocity, air inlet swirl angle, secondary air injection (dilution holes), fuel injection velocity, fuel injection angle, number of fuel injection ports, fuel spray cone angle, and fuel droplet size. Cases are run with and without combustion to examine the variations in fuel-air mixing and potential for flashback due to the above parameters. The degree of fuel-air mixing is judged by comparing average, minimum, and maximum fuel/air ratios at the exit of the mixer tube, while flame stability is monitored by following the location of the flame front as the solution progresses from ignition to steady state. Results indicate that fuel-air mixing can be enhanced by a variety of means, the best being a combination of air inlet swirl and a converging-diverging mixer tube geometry. With the IMFH configuration utilized in the present study, flashback becomes more common as the mixer tube diameter is increased and is instigated by disturbances associated with the dilution hole flow.
A study was conducted to assess the performance characteristics of both PEM and SOFC-based fuel cell systems for an all-electric high altitude, long endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Primary and hybrid systems were considered. Fuel options include methane, hydrogen, and jet fuel. Excel-based models were used to calculate component mass as a function of power level and mission duration. Total system mass and stored volume as a function of mission duration for an aircraft operating at 65 kft altitude were determined and compared.
Student exit presentation based on poster done during the Summer session.
The tests reported in this paper were made to devise simple engine tests which would rate fuels as to their comparative value and their suitability for the operating conditions of the individual engine on which the tests are made. Three commercial fuels were used in two test engines having combustion chambers with and without effective air flow. Strictly comparative performance tests gave almost identical results for the three fuels. Analysis of indicator cards allowed a differentiation between fuels on a basis of rates of combustion. The same comparative ratings were obtained by determining the consistent operating range of injection advance angle for the three fuels. The difference in fuels is more pronounced in a quiescent combustion chamber than in one with high-velocity air flow. A fuel is considered suitable for the operating conditions of an engine with a quiescent combustion chamber if it permits the injection of the fuel to be advanced beyond the optimum without exceeding allowable knock or allowable maximum cylinder pressures.
A new high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for group-type analysis of middistillate fuels is described. It uses a refractive index detector and standards that are prepared by reacting a portion of the fuel sample with sulfuric acid. A complete analysis of a middistillate fuel for saturates and aromatics (including the preparation of the standard) requires about 15 min if standards for several fuels are prepared simultaneously. From model fuel studies, the method was found to be accurate to within 0.4 vol% saturates or aromatics, and provides a precision of + or - 0.4 vol%. Olefin determinations require an additional 15 min of analysis time. However, this determination is needed only for those fuels displaying a significant olefin response at 200 nm (obtained routinely during the saturated/aromatics analysis procedure). The olefin determination uses the responses of the olefins and the corresponding saturates, as well as the average value of their refractive index sensitivity ratios (1.1). Studied indicated that, although the relative error in the olefins result could reach 10 percent by using this average sensitivity ratio, it was 5 percent for the fuels used in this study. Olefin concentrations as low as 0.1 vol% have been determined using this method.
The energy use and costs of the on-site integrated energy system (OS/IES) which provides electric power from an on-site power plant and recovers heat that would normally be rejected to the environment is compared to a conventional system purchasing electricity from a utility and a phosphoric acid fuel cell powered system. The analysis showed that for a 500-unit apartment complex a fuel OS/IES would be about 10% more energy conservative in terms of total coal consumption than a diesel OS/IES system or a conventional system. The fuel cell OS/IES capital costs could be 30 to 55% greater than the diesel OS/IES capital costs for the same life cycle costs. The life cycle cost of a fuel cell OS/IES would be lower than that for a conventional system as long as the cost of electricity is greater than $0.05 to $0.065/kWh. An analysis of several parametric combinations of fuel cell power plant and state-of-art energy recovery systems and annual fuel requirement calculations for four locations were made. It was shown that OS/IES component choices are a major factor in fuel consumption, with the least efficient system using 25% more fuel than the most efficient. Central air conditioning and heat pumps result in minimum fuel consumption while individual air conditioning units increase it, and in general the fuel cell of highest electrical efficiency has the lowest fuel consumption.
Collectors at 1173K (900 C) were exposed to the combustion products of a Mach 0.3 burner rig fueled with various industrial turbine liquid fuels from solvent refined coals. Four fuels were employed: a naphtha, a light oil, a wash solvent and a mid-heavy distillate blend. The response of four superalloys (IN-100, U 700, IN 792 and M-509) to exposure to the combustion gases from the SRC-2 naphtha and resultant deposits was also determined. The SRC-2 fuel analysis and insights obtained during the combustion experience are discussed. Particular problems encountered were fuel instability and reactions of the fuel with hardware components. The major metallic elements which contributed to the deposits were copper, iron, chromium, calcium, aluminum, nickel, silicon, titanium, zinc, and sodium. The deposits were found to be mainly metal oxides. An equilibrium thermodynamic analysis was employed to predict the chemical composition of the deposits. The agreement between the predicted and observed compounds was excellent. No hot corrosion was observed. This was expected because the deposits contained very little sodium or potassium and consisted mainly of the unreactive oxides. However, the amounts of deposits formed indicated that fouling is a potential problem with the use of these fuels.
Computer analysis of critical fuel solution reactors with arrays of large diameter voids