A design strategy for water-based noise suppression systems in liquid rocket engines firing tests

Abstract

This paper presents a streamlined design procedure for water-based noise suppression systems that are applicable to multiple classes of rocket engines. A newly adapted steady quasi-one-dimensional two-phase model is employed to predict the evolution of the exhaust gases interacting with water droplets. Such a model is embedded into a two-step optimization procedure with the objective of finding the most efficient combination of the suppressor operative parameters. This information is then used to design the hardware of the system, which consists in a set of injectors, with the task of producing atomized water jets directed towards the exhaust gases, and a toroidal manifold, with the task of delivering water to the injectors at uniform conditions of pressure and velocity. Finally, the proposed design procedure is applied to a 15 kN thrust class oxygen/methane liquid rocket engine. Technical specifications of the resulting water-based noise suppression system are provided along with a detailed three-dimensional CAD model.