Experimental investigation of transcritical methane flow in rocket engine cooling channel

Votta, Raffaele; Battista, Francesco; Salvatore, Vito; Pizzarelli, Marco; Leccese, Giuseppe; Nasuti, Francesco; Meyer, Scott

doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2015.12.019

Cited by 37 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…IV). Note that the experimental estimation of the roughness level is on the order of 10 μm [6], which is in line with the adopted value for the numerical computations.…”

Section: Numerical Modelsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Unfortunately, the comparison with the experimental measure of the pressure drop is not straightforward because only a measure of the flange-to-flange static pressure drop has been performed during the test campaign. However, considering a simplified modeling of the concentrated pressure drop in the flanges [6], which is affected by a high uncertainty, the experimental static pressure drop in the channel is 8.9 bar. With respect to this value, the numerical estimation with ε 12 μm underestimates the pressure drop by 9.0%.…”

Section: A Effect Of Surface Roughnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The final aim of the program is the building and testing of a rocket engine demonstrator having a chamber pressure of about 60 bar and a suitable cooling circuit fed with supercritical methane [5]. In this framework, a specific test article [referred to as the Methane thermal properties breadboard (MTP)] has been designed and tested to investigate the thermofluid-dynamic behavior of transcritical methane inside a rectangular cooling channel that is representative of the engine demonstrator cooling system [6]. Preliminary numerical results on the MTP test article [7] have indicated that deterioration can be encountered in the case of smooth surfaces and coolant pressure of about 60 bar, but also that heat transfer deterioration is mitigated in the case of either higher coolant pressure or relatively high surface roughness.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The performed experimental test campaign has demonstrated that heat transfer deterioration has not occurred, even in the test condition with lower pressure, which is about 60 bar. This has been justified by the relatively high surface roughness, estimated to be on the order of 10 μm [6].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Validation of Conjugate Heat Transfer Model for Rocket Cooling with Supercritical Methane

Pizzarelli¹,

Nasuti²,

Votta³

et al. 2016

Journal of Propulsion and Power

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A numerical solver able to describe a rocket engine cooling channel fed with supercritical methane is validated against experimental data coming from a test article conceived and tested by the Italian Aerospace Research Center. The multidimensional conjugate heat transfer model numerically solves the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations for the coolant flow and the Fourier's law of conduction for the heat transfer within the wall. In this study, an experimental test case is reproduced in detail in order to evaluate the influence of partially unknown parameters, such as surface roughness and wall thermal conductivity, and of operative parameter uncertainty, such as the coolant mass flow rate and input heat transfer rate. The comparison made with respect to the wall temperature and coolant pressure drop of the whole set of experimental data provides complementary information that allows better understanding of experiments and infers possible deviations from the expected behavior.= mass flow rate p = pressure Q = heat transfer rate q = heat flux s w = internal wall thickness T = temperature t w = rib thickness x, y, z = axial, horizontal, and vertical coordinates Subscripts cr = critical e = exit i = inlet w = wall

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“…IV). Note that the experimental estimation of the roughness level is on the order of 10 μm [6], which is in line with the adopted value for the numerical computations.…”

Section: Numerical Modelsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: A Effect Of Surface Roughnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Validation of Conjugate Heat Transfer Model for Rocket Cooling with Supercritical Methane

Pizzarelli¹,

Nasuti²,

Votta³

et al. 2016

Journal of Propulsion and Power

Self Cite

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“…Their model is able to capture the 85% of experimental data within the permissible error limits. Votta et al (2016) conducted experimental studies and proposed a correlation for determining the Nusselt number, which is valid for asymmetrically heated rectangular channels. Pizzarelli (2016) proposed a Nusselt number correlation to describe the convective heat-transfer characteristics of supercritical flow exhibiting deterioration and with negligible buoyancy effects from numerical simulations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Aspect Ratio on Supercritical Heat Transfer of Cryogenic Methane in Rocket Engine Cooling Channels

Arun¹,

Akhil²,

Noufal³

et al. 2017

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer

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The supercritical turbulent flow of cryogenic methane flowing in a rocket engine cooing channel is numerically analysed by imposing constant heat flux at the bottom surface of the channel. The calculation scheme is validated by comparing the results obtained with experimental results reported in literature. The heat transfer coefficient is influenced by the strong variation in thermophysical properties of methane at super critical pressure. An increasing trend in the average value of Nusselt number is observed with aspect ratio. The efficacy of both Modified Jackson and Hall and Bishop empirical correlations in predicting Nusselt number is tested for cryogenic methane flowing in coolant channels.

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Turbulent heat transfer characteristics of supercritical n ‐decane in a vertical tube under various operating pressures

Sun

Sundén

et al. 2019

Int J Energy Res

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Summary To explore the effect of the operating pressure on the flow and thermal characteristics in a vertical tube with supercritical n‐decane, the inner wall temperature along the streamwise direction, the applicability of empirical correlations and buoyancy criteria are studied firstly. The mechanisms in views of density distribution, velocity field, turbulence intensity, the thickness of the thermal boundary layer, and secondary flow are then analyzed. It is observed that the buoyancy is helpful for the phenomenon of heat transfer deterioration at lower operating pressures but higher operating pressures can diminish this tendency. According to this reason, the empirical correlation proposed by Bae and Kim is suitable for the higher operating pressures but cannot well predict the occurrence of heat transfer deterioration. However, it can be evaluated by the buoyancy criterion Gr/Re2 = 0.01 qualitatively. The decrease of turbulence intensity, the thickened thermal boundary layer, and secondary flow generation make contributions to the heat transfer deterioration in particular. Similarly, this situation can be diminished and even removed by the higher operating pressures.

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Experimental investigation of transcritical methane flow in rocket engine cooling channel

Cited by 37 publications

References 13 publications

Validation of Conjugate Heat Transfer Model for Rocket Cooling with Supercritical Methane

Validation of Conjugate Heat Transfer Model for Rocket Cooling with Supercritical Methane

Effect of Aspect Ratio on Supercritical Heat Transfer of Cryogenic Methane in Rocket Engine Cooling Channels

Turbulent heat transfer characteristics of supercritical n ‐decane in a vertical tube under various operating pressures

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