PROPOSAL NUMBER: | 05 T9.01-9767 |
RESEARCH SUBTOPIC TITLE: | Rocket Propulsion Testing Systems |
PROPOSAL TITLE: | Plume Diagnostics for Combustion Stability |
SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (SBC): | RESEARCH INSTITUTION (RI): | ||
NAME: | SIERRA ENGINEERING INC. | NAME: | Purdue University, Sponsored Program Services |
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ADDRESS: | 603 E. Robinson, Suite 7 | ADDRESS: | 302 Wood St. |
CITY: | Carson City | CITY: | West Lafayette |
STATE/ZIP: | NV 89701-4046 | STATE/ZIP: | IN 47907-2108 |
PHONE: | (775) 885-8483 | PHONE: | (765) 494-6204 |
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER
(Name,Email)
Curtis W Johnson
cwj@sierraengineering.com
TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Sierra Engineering and Purdue University propose to leverage combustion stability testing, already funded and planned for the second and third quarters of next year at Purdue, by developing a non-intrusive plume instrument capable of detecting combustion instability and testing it during combustor firings. Purdue has previously created the combustor and demonstrated unstable combustion operation. Sierra will apply its experience with plume signature prediction and plume signature tailoring to model the combustor response and estimate the high frequency variations in the combustion process that feeds the instabilities. Both Sierra and Purdue have expertise in combustion instability and the mechanisms that cause it. This expertise will be used to develop a methodology, based on plume observations, to estimate combustion burning response and, hence, predict combustion stability margin. During a Phase II STTR, more testing and higher fidelity instrumentation will mature the methodology for future application to NASA test facilities. Successful completion of this project will provide a non-intrusive tool for detecting and diagnosing combustion instability that is superior to current intrusive methods.
POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Current NASA roadmaps point towards development of new hydrocarbon fueled engines. Whether the new engines use kerosene or methane, both fuels have led to unstable combustor designs in the past; therefore, combustion stability will be important to NASA in the future. Improved combustion stability diagnostic tools, especially ones that are non-intrusive to the combustor hardware, can be an important part of this future development. If the technology proposed here works, complete combustor bomb test campaigns (which can be dangerous) may be eliminated with potential cost savings of millions of dollars. Application of this technology to other combustion issues, such as combustion efficiency, can improve engine-specific impulse, which would improve overall CEV performance.
POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Successful application of this technology can be important to many other organizations that develop combustors, not only those in liquid rocket engines. Combustion stability has plagued solid rocket motor development as well as air breathing aircraft engines and commercial burners. An improved methodology to assess stability margin and diagnose problems could be applied throughout the combustor industry. The Missile Defense Agency is also researching more accurate ways of typing threat missiles. Data and instrumentation design developed in this effort could be directly used in developing new typing instrumentation and methods based on high frequency intensity variation.
NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA. |
TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
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High-Energy
Operations Concepts and Requirements Optical Power Management and Distribution Simulation Modeling Environment Testing Facilities Thermodynamic Conversion |