Abstract

Cavity stabilized flames are one of the primary methods of flame holding being researched for use in supersonic combustion ramjets (scramjets). In order to hold a flame in the supersonic freestream using a cavity, the cavity itself must first be ignited and a stable flame formed within. A fueled cavity in a supersonic crossflow was ignited via a pulse detonator (PD) producing detonation waves that were then decoupled to produce varying degrees of shock-flame separation at the exit of the PD tube. This decoupling allowed for observation of the cavity ignition mechanism, and the key parameters required for successful cavity ignition were identified. Measurements were made using high-frame-rate OH Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) and schlieren and chemiluminescence imaging. It was shown that the entrainment of high-temperature intermediate species into the forward region of the cavity, immediately behind the step, is the principal criterion for cavity ignition. Both coupled and slightly decoupled detonation cases induced significant OH shedding into the step region, leading to ignition and flame stabilization within the cavity. At conditions where OH shedding into the step region did not occur, cavity ignition was not observed. In coupled and slightly decoupled cases, there is more shedding of OH behind the step due to the greater disturbances created in the flowfield. As the degree of detonation decoupling increases, there is less shedding of OH and therefore a lower likelihood of ignition. Additionally, the time required for cavity combustion to reach its steady-state condition varied with the degree of decoupling of the detonation. Coupled detonation cases were shown to be more disruptive to the cavity and thus required more time to reach steady state than the decoupled cases.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2020

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Ahmed, Kareem

Degree

Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering (M.S.A.E.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Degree Program

Aerospace Engineering; Thermofluid Aerodynamic Systems

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0008377; DP0023814

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0023814

Language

English

Release Date

December 2025

Length of Campus-only Access

5 years

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Campus-only Access)

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Restricted to the UCF community until December 2025; it will then be open access.

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