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Completed TRL 2 (started at 2, targeting 3)
The objective of this project is to study how design variations of a coaxial shear injector in a liquid Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) affects the detonation wave and performance of the engine. The research will provide a better understanding of liquid injector design in a detonation environment, and the understanding of detonation combustion of liquid propellant in RDREs. This entire study will be conducted at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) in the Propulsion Research Center (PRC). This project will be conducted in three phases: A. Injector cold flow testing .B. Injector recovery and mixing response to a single passing detonation front. C. Injector design and performance in a functioning RDRE.I will utilize the injector cold spray testing facility at UAH to study the atomization process, a linear detonation tube to study the injector spray response to single detonation waves, and finally a working liquid propellant RDRE with optical access to study multi injector element interactions with the detonation wave and the overall engine performance. The results will provide new insight into how coaxial shear injectors function in RDREs and enable improved engine designs for future NASA missions.
The research will provide a better understanding of liquid injector design in a detonation environment, and the understanding of detonation combustion of liquid propellant in Rotating Detonation Rocket Engines (RDREs).
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