Characteristics of spray and combustion in gas-centered swirl coaxial injector with varying gas nozzle diameter

Abstract

Gas-centered swirl coaxial (GCSC) injectors, a type used in the combustion chamber of liquid rocket engines, have been widely investigated because their characteristics are key parameters for the performance of the engine. This study investigated the spray and combustion characteristics of GCSC injectors used in the combustion chamber of oxidizer-rich staged-combustion cycle engines. When the propellant mass flow rate and oxidizer-to-fuel mass flow ratio (O/F ratio) were identical, the diameter of the gas nozzle was changed such that the ratio of the gas-to-liquid momentum could be changed; thus, the swirl strength of the liquid also changed because of the increase in the injector diameter. In the spray experiments, the spray characteristics were identified in accordance with changes in the diameter of the gas nozzle through the spray angle, droplet mean velocity, and droplet size by using backlight photography and the ParticleMaster imaging system. For combustion tests, four types of reduced combustion chambers were designed to spray propellants through the same two injectors used in the spray experiments. To generate an oxidizer-rich combustion gas, combustion tests were performed using a pre-burner. The changes in combustion characteristics according to the change in the injector shape under the same combustion chamber shape, propellant flow rate, and O/F ratio were identified through the characteristic velocity and heat flux of the combustion chamber. As the gas–liquid momentum flux ratio increased in accordance with the change in diameter of the gas nozzle, the characteristic velocity increased from at least 1700 m/s to a maximum of 1721 m/s, which was related to the decrease in the Sauter mean diameter observed in the spray experiments. Few studies have investigated GCSC shape variables by simultaneously conducting atmospheric spray experiments and high-pressure combustion tests on GCSC injectors using kerosene and oxidizer-rich combustion gases as propellants. This study observed the changes in spray characteristics according to the change in the diameter of the injector gas nozzle through atmospheric spray experiments of the GCSC injector and compared and analyzed the combustion characteristics through combustion tests using the same injector. The results of this study will potentially aid the design optimization of GCSC injectors and facilitate future developments.