ORCID

0000-0002-3465-4040

Keywords

detonation, combustion, liquid fuel detonation

Abstract

Detonations are a form of combustion that produce significantly higher work per specific volume than traditional deflagration combustion, thus are an active area of interest for increased combustion efficiency and power generation. However, the highly unsteady nature of detonations complicates the ability to harness their energy in a fieldable technology, prompting the need for a more fundamental understanding of the detonation phenomena. Fundamental detonation research has overwhelmingly focused on gaseous reactants due to ease of experimentation, though liquid fuels are increasingly relevant as their high energy density makes them more suitable for real-world engine applications, and much of the research on detonation-based propulsion devices have operated with multiphase reactions. This research presents a liquid-fuel detonation experiment using aerosolized Jet-A droplets as the sole fuel in a detonation reaction. The oxidizer is modulated from pure oxygen to near-air though nitrogen dilution, and both equivalence ratio and droplet size are varied. Highly resolved diagnostics are used to image the reaction, including CH* chemiluminescence, shadowgraph, Mie scattering, and pressure measurements. Results show increasing nitrogen leads to more irregular detonations and the mass loading ratio scales with detonability limits. A characteristic liquid detonation length scale is shown through Mie scattering images and discussed in terms of mass stripping liquid droplet breakup models and heat transfer calculations.

Completion Date

2025

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

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

Identifier

DP0029275

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

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