Accession Number:

ADA624214

Title:

Effect of Mixture Pressure and Equivalence Ratio on Detonation Cell Size for Hydrogen-Air Mixtures

Descriptive Note:

Master's thesis

Corporate Author:

AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT

Personal Author(s):

• Babbie, Curtis A.

Report Date:

2015-06-01

Pagination or Media Count:

129.0

Abstract:

Cell sizes of fuel and oxidizer combinations are the fundamental length scale of detonations. The detonation cell size is correlated to dynamic detonation properties. One of the properties, detonability is the motivation for this research. In order to design combustion chambers for detonating engines, specifically PDEs and RDEs, the cell size is needed. Higher than atmospheric mixture pressure detonation cell sizes are important for scaling the combustion chambers, and before this research no data existed for hydrogen and air detonation cell sizes at mixture pressures up to 10.0 atm. This research successfully validated a new detonation cell size measurement technique and measured 15 cases for varying mixture pressures up to 10 atm and equivalence ratios. The results were concurrent with previous trends, as increase in mixture pressure decreased detonation cell size and a decrease in equivalence ratio from stoichiometric increased detonation cell size. The experimental results were used to establish a correlation that estimates hydrogen and air detonation cell size given initial mixture pressure and equivalence ratio.

Descriptors:

• *CELLS
• *COMBUSTION CHAMBERS
• *HYDROGEN
• *PRESSURE
• AIR
• CORRELATION
• DETONATIONS
• DYNAMICS
• ENGINES
• ESTIMATES
• MIXTURES
• MOTIVATION
• OXIDIZERS
• PATTERNS
• SCALE
• SCALING FACTOR
• STOICHIOMETRY
• THESES
• VALIDATION

Subject Categories:

• Inorganic Chemistry
• Combustion and Ignition

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE