Length scales in cryogenic injection at supercritical pressure

Abstract.

Length scales provide some understanding of the injection of cryogenic propellants in rocket chambers on mixing efficiency, which translates to burning efficiency and performance. This project uses supercritical cryogenic nitrogen to look at high-density core flows such as those of coaxial injectors used in rocket engines. The investigation considers test conditions from 4.0 to 6.0 MPa chamber pressure at two injection velocities and temperatures. Experimental data taken by using shadowgraph images provides a means of characterizing turbulent flow structures using a two-point correlation method to determine length scales and structure shapes. The experimental results are compared to computational models.