Numerical analysis of paraffin-wax/oxygen hybrid rocket engines

A predictive numerical approach, based on Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations including the effects of turbulence, chemistry, fluid/surface interaction, and radiation, has been developed for paraffin-wax/oxygen hybrid rocket engines. A recently fired single-port paraffin-based hybrid rocket engine, with chamber pressures up to 19.1 bar, is taken as reference for the discussion of the results of the numerical simulations, which outline important features of the internal ballistics otherwise not observed in the experiments. For the engine under consideration, radiation accounts for 33–62% of the total wall heat flux on the grain, depending on the radial dimension and chamber pressure. The rebuilding of the experimental time-averaged regression rate and chamber pressure is carried out with fair success, enabling their prediction with a maximum error of 15 and 10%, respectively. The numerical model can aid the design and the optimization of future paraffin-based hybrid rocket engines

CFD Ablation Predictions with Coupled GSI Modeling for Charring and non-Charring Materials

To this day, a major objective of TPS design is to reduce empiricism, and to increase fundamental modeling capability through increased understanding. One of the most challenging aspect is the proper coupling between the material response and the external flow field. With this regard, the goal of this research activity is the improvement of the numerical modeling capabilities through the development of advanced CFD tools integrated with Gas-Surface Interaction (GSI) modeling. Numerical prediction of ablation is ambitious and cpu-time demanding due to the complex multiphase physical and chemical processes that occur. With improvements in computational algorithms and advances in computer hardware, Navier- Stokes based approaches have become the norm in recent years for coupling to material thermal response predictions. The present state of the art in fluid-material coupling is represented by loose coupling of a high-fidelity CFD flow solver with a material thermal response code. In that respect, some major restrictions are still present in these state of the art coupled solutions: surface chemical equilibrium assumption non-ablating flow field prediction simplified diffusion modeling based on transfer coefficient Chemical equilibrium is a special condition of the general chemical nonequilibrium condition and surface recession rate predicted by the chemical equilibrium surface chemistry is usually reasonably conservative and is considered to be a best alternative when the nonequilibrium computation is too expensive or unlikely to be achieved. The ablation models are currently largely based on the surface equilibrium assumption and the effects and importance of non-equilibrium ablation models coupled with CFD tools are only beginning to be explored. Moreover, the coupling between CFD solver and material response code is often made considering non-ablating flow field solutions assuming a fully/super-catalytic, radiative equilibrium wall. This means that the effect on the flow field solution of the ablation and pyrolysis gas injection and of variable surface temperature are treated only approximately relying on the use of mass and energy transfer coefficients and semi-empirical blowing correction equations. Finally, the ablation rate is generally computed by the material response code using thermochemical tables and extremely simplified diffusion models based on transfer coefficients and semi-empirical relations relating mass and energy transfer. The objective of this research activity is to remove these major limiting assumptions developing suitable finite-rate GSI models and integrating CFD technology with Computational Surface Thermochemistry (CST) to take into account the effect of surface ablation and pyrolysis gas injection on the flow field and to allow surface ablation and surface temperature distributions to be determined as part of the CFD solution. Because the entire flow field is to be solved with ablative boundary conditions, the film-transfer theory assumption is no longer needed; this will permit to avoid all of the classical approximations such as transfer coefficients, equilibrium thermochemical tables, and blowing correction equations which needs to be used when ablative boundary conditions are not accounted for in the CFD solution. The ablative boundary conditions, based on finite-rate chemistry, species mass conservation and surface energy balance, is discretized and integrated with the CFD code to predict aerothermal heating, surface temperature, gas-phase surface composition, and surface ablation rate. The concentrations of chemical species at wall are determined from finite-rate gas-surface chemical reactions balanced by mass transfer rate. The surface temperature is determined from the surface energy balance assuming steady-state ablation or coupling with a thermal response code. The surface recession rate and the surface temperature are thus obtained as part of the flow field solution. The computational tool developed in this work is used to simulate two sets of experimental data for nozzle material ablation: sub-scale motor tests carried out for the Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor and the static firing tests of the second and third stage solid rocket motors of the European VEGA launcher which use carbon-carbon for the throat insert and carbon-phenolic for the region downstream of the throat

A design strategy for water-based noise suppression systems in liquid rocket engines firing tests

This paper presents a streamlined design procedure for water-based noise suppression systems that are applicable to multiple classes of rocket engines. A newly adapted steady quasi-one-dimensional two-phase model is employed to predict the evolution of the exhaust gases interacting with water droplets. Such a model is embedded into a two-step optimization procedure with the objective of finding the most efficient combination of the suppressor operative parameters. This information is then used to design the hardware of the system, which consists in a set of injectors, with the task of producing atomized water jets directed towards the exhaust gases, and a toroidal manifold, with the task of delivering water to the injectors at uniform conditions of pressure and velocity. Finally, the proposed design procedure is applied to a 15 kN thrust class oxygen/methane liquid rocket engine. Technical specifications of the resulting water-based noise suppression system are provided along with a detailed three-dimensional CAD model

Unpulsed UBV Optical Emission from the Crab Pulsar

Based on observations of the Crab pulsar using the TRIFFID high speed imaging photometer in the UBV bands using the Special Astrophysical Observatory's 6m telescope in the Russian Caucasus, we report the detection of pronounced emission during the so-called `off' phase of emission. Following de-extinction, this unpulsed component of emission is shown to be consistent with a power law with an exponent of alpha = -0.60 +/- 0.37, the uncertainty being dominated by the error associated with the independent CCD photometry used to reference the TRIFFID data. This suggests a steeper power law form than that reported elsewhere in the literature for the total integrated spectrum, which is essentially flat with alpha ~ 0.1, although the difference in this case is only significant at the ~ 2 sigma level. Deeper reference integrated and TRIFFID phase-resolved photometry in these bands in conjunction with further observations in the UV and R region would constrain this fit further.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figures, uses aasms4.sty, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Implications of the Optical Observations of Neutron Stars

We show that observations of pulsars with pulsed optical emission indicate that the peak flux scales according to the magnetic field strength at the light cylinder. The derived relationships indicate that the emission mechanism is common across all of the observed pulsars with periods ranging from 33ms to 385 ms and ages of 1000-300,000 years. It is noted that similar trends exist for $\gamma$ ray pulsars. Furthermore the model proposed by Pacini (1971) and developed by Pacini and Salvati (1983,1987) still has validity and gives an adequate explanation of the optical phenomena.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Search for the Optical Counterpart of the Vela Pulsar X-ray Nebula

Observations of the Vela pulsar region with the Chandra X-ray observatory have revealed the fine structure of its synchrotron pulsar-wind nebula (PWN), which showed an overall similarity with the Crab PWN. However, contrary to the Crab, no firm detection of the Vela PWN in optical has been reported yet. To search for the optical counterpart of the X-ray PWN, we analyzed deep optical observations performed with different telescopes. We compared the optical images with those obtained with the Chandra ACIS to search for extended emission patterns which could be identified as counterparts of the X-ray nebula elements. Although some features are seen in the optical images, we find no correlation with the X-ray structure. Thus, we conclude that the diffuse optical emission is more likely associated with filaments in the host Vela SNR. The derived upper limits on the optical flux from the PWN are compatibile, within the uncertainties, with the values expected on the basis of the extrapolations of the X-ray data.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

The distance to the Vela pulsar gauged with HST parallax oservations

The distance to the Vela pulsar (PSR B0833-45) has been traditionally assumed to be 500 pc. Although affected by a significant uncertainty, this value stuck to both the pulsar and the SNR. In an effort to obtain a model free distance measurement, we have applied high resolution astrometry to the pulsar V~23.6 optical counterpart. Using a set of five HST/WFPC2 observations, we have obtained the first optical measurement of the annual parallax of the Vela pulsar. The parallax turns out to be 3.4 +/- 0.7 mas, implying a distance of 294(-50;+76) pc, i.e. a value significantly lower than previously believed. This affects the estimate of the pulsar absolute luminosity and of its emission efficiency at various wavelengths and confirms the exceptionally high value of the N_e towards the Vela pulsar. Finally, the complete parallax data base allows for a better measurement of the Vela pulsar proper motion (mu_alpha(cos(delta))=-37.2 +/- 1.2 mas/yr; mu_delta=28.2 +/- 1.3 mas/yr after correcting for the peculiar motion of the Sun) which, at the parallax distance, implies a transverse velocity of ~65 km/s. Moreover, the proper motion position angle appears specially well aligned with the axis of symmetry of the X-ray nebula as seen by Chandra. Such an alignment allows to assess the space velocity of the Vela pulsar to be ~81 km/s.Comment: LaTeX, 21 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

Sour Beer as Bioreservoir of Novel Craft Ale Yeast Cultures

: The increasing demand for craft beer is driving the search for novel ale yeast cultures from brewing-related wild environments. The focus of bioprospecting for craft cultures is to identify feral yeasts suitable to imprint unique sensorial attributes onto the final product. Here, we integrated phylogenetic, genotypic, genetic, and metabolomic techniques to demonstrate that sour beer during aging in wooden barrels is a source of suitable craft ale yeast candidates. In contrast to the traditional lambic beer maturation phase, during the aging of sour-matured production-style beer, different biotypes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae dominated the cultivable in-house mycobiota, which were followed by Pichia membranifaciens, Brettanomyces bruxellensis, and Brettanomyces anomalus. In addition, three putative S. cerevisiae × Saccharomyces uvarum hybrids were identified. S. cerevisiae feral strains sporulated, produced viable monosporic progenies, and had the STA1 gene downstream as a full-length promoter. During hopped wort fermentation, four S. cerevisiae strains and the S. cerevisiae × S. uvarum hybrid WY213 exceeded non-Saccharomyces strains in fermentative rate and ethanol production except for P. membranifaciens WY122. This strain consumed maltose after a long lag phase, in contrast to the phenotypic profile described for the species. According to the STA1+ genotype, S. cerevisiae partially consumed dextrin. Among the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by S. cerevisiae and the S. cerevisiae × S. uvarum hybrid, phenylethyl alcohol, which has a fruit-like aroma, was the most prevalent. In conclusion, the strains characterized here have relevant brewing properties and are exploitable as indigenous craft beer starters