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An efficient reliability technique has been developed based on Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in conjunction with the First Order Second Moment (FOSM) reliability method. The technique is applied when the limit state function cannot be obtained explicitly in terms of the design variables, i.e., when the analysis is performed using numerical techniques such as finite elements. The technique has proven to be efficient because it can handle problems with large numbers of design variables and correlated as well as nonnormal random variables. When compared with analytical results, the method has shown excellent agreement. The technique contains a sensitivity analysis scheme which can be used to reduce the computation time resulting in nearly the same accuracy. This technique allows the extension of most finite element codes to account for probabilistic analysis, where statistical variations can be added to the design variables. An explicit solution for rocket motors consisting of propellant and steel case under environmental temperature variations is compared to the RSM technique. The method is then used for the analysis of rocket motors subjected to mechanical loads for which the stress analysis is performed using the finite element method. The technique is also applied to study the reliability of a laminated composite plate with geometric nonlinearity subjected to static and time dependent loadings. Different failure modes were considered as well as different meshes. Results have shown that when the relative size of the element is introduced into the probabilistic model, the same reliability value is obtained regardless of the number of elements in the mesh. This is good because it allows the technique to be used for problems where the failure region is unknown. / Ph. D.

This thesis aims at studying the breakup of swirling liquid sheets discharging from the outer orifice of gas centered swirl coaxial atomizers. Such atomizers are considered as propellant injection systems for semi-cryogenic liquid rocket engines. A gas centered swirl coaxial type atomizer discharges an annular swirling liquid sheet which is atomized by a gaseous jet issuing from the central orifice of the atomizer. The primary objectives of this work were to understand the fluid dynamic interaction process between the outer liquid sheet and the central gas jet and its role on the breakup process of the liquid sheet. Cold flow experiments were carried out by constructing custom made gas centered swirl coaxial atomizers. Two different atomizer configurations with varying swirl effect were studied. The jets were injected into ambient atmospheric air medium with tap water and air as experimental fluids. The flow conditions were described in terms of Weber number (Wel) and Reynolds number (Reg) for liquid sheet and the air jet respectively. Spray images were captured by employing an image acquisition system comprising a high resolution digital camera and a strobe lamp. The captured spray images at different combinations of Wel and Reg were analyzed to extract quantitative measurements of breakup length (Lb), spray cone angle (θs), spray width (SW) and two-dimensional surface profile of liquid sheets. Quantitative analysis of the variation of Lb with Reg with different values of Wel suggested that low inertia liquid sheets undergo an efficient breakup process. High inertia liquid sheets ignore the presence of central air jet at lower values of Reg however undergo air jet breakup at higher values of Reg. Qualitative analysis of experimental observations revealed that the entrainment process, established between the inner surface of the liquid sheet and the boundary of central jet, triggers the air assisted sheet breakup by drawing the liquid sheet closer to the spray axis. The entrainment process may be developing corrugations on the surface of liquid sheet which promotes the production of thick liquid ligaments from the sheet surface. The level of surface corrugations on the liquid sheet, quantified by means of tortuosity of liquid sheet profile, increases with increasing Reg. Limited studies on the effect of variation swirl intensity on the air assisted breakup process of liquid sheets did not show any significant influence for the atomizers examined in the present work.

A visualisation procedure was developed which predicts excited hydroxyl (OH*) radiation from the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solutions of cryogenic hydrogen-oxygen rocket flames. The model of backward ray tracing through inhomogeneous media with a continuously changing refractive index was implemented. It obtains the optical paths of light rays that originate in the rocket chamber, pass through the window and enter a simulated camera. Through the use of spectral modelling, the emission and absorption spectra eλ and κλ are simulated on the ray path from information about temperature, pressure and concentration of constituent species at relevant points. By solving a radiative transfer equation with the integration of emission and absorption spectra along the ray line-by-line, a spectral radiance is calculated, multiplied with the spectral filter transmittance and then integrated into total radiance. The values of total radiances at the window edge are visualised as a simulated 2D image. Such images are comparable with the OH* measurement images. The modelling of refraction effects results in up to 20 % of total radiance range absolute difference compared to line-of-sight integration. The implementation of accurate self-absorption corrects significant over-prediction, which occurs if the flame is assumed to be optically thin. Modelling of refraction results in images with recognisable areas where the effect of a liquid oxygen (LOx) jet core can be observed, as the light is significantly refracted. The algorithm is parallelised and thus ready for use on big computational clusters. It uses partial pre-computation of spectra to reduce computational effort.

Physical mechanism for high frequency instability in cryogenic engines at low hydrogen injection temperature has been a subject of debate for long time. Experimental and early developmental studies revealed no instabilities and it was only much later when liquid hydrogen at lower initial temperature (~50 to 100 K) was injected into the combustion chamber that instabilities were detected. From the compilations of the experimental data related to the instability of cryogenic engines by Hulka and Hutt, it was found that the instability was strongly connected to the temperature of hydrogen. Experiments conducted with hydrogen temperature ramping from a higher value to lower values indicated that the temperatures in excess of 90 K favor stability under most practical operating conditions. Even though this has been known for over forty years, there has been no clear and simple explanation for this. Many physical mechanisms have been hypothesized to explain how temperature ramping causes instability, but all appear to have limited range of applicability. Current understanding of cryogenic engine combustion instability has been achieved through a combination of experimental investigation and approximate analytical models as well as CFD tools. Various researchers have tried to link the low hydrogen injection temperature combustion instability phenomena with various potential mechanisms for combustion instability. They involve coupling of combustion acoustics with atomization, vaporization, mixing, chemical kinetics or any combination of these processes. Various studies related to the effect of recess, injector hydrodynamics, acoustic damping of gas liquid scheme injectors and effect of drop size distribution on the stability characteristics of cryogenic engines were compiled in the thesis. Several researchers examined fuel droplet vaporization as the rate controlling mechanism. Recently a new method for the evaluation of stability characteristics of the engine using model chamber were proposed by Russians and this is based on mixing as the rate controlling mechanism. Pros and cons of this method were discussed. Some people examined the combustion instability of rocket engines based on chemistry dynamics. A considerable amount of analytical and numerical studies were carried out by various researchers for finding out the cause of combustion instability. Because of the limitations of their analysis, they could not successfully explain the cause of combustion instability at low hydrogen injection temperature. A compilation of previous numerical studies were carried out. A number of researchers have applied CFD in the study of combustion instabilities in liquid propellant rocket engines. In the present thesis, a theoretical model has been developed based on the vaporization of droplets to predict the stability characteristics of the engine. The proposed concept focuses on three dimensional simulation of combustion instability for giving some meaningful explanations for the experimental work presented in the literature. In the present study the pressure wave corresponding to the transverse modes were superimposed on a three dimensional steady state operating conditions. Steady state parameters were obtained from the three dimensional combustion modeling. The conservation equations for mass, momentum and energy are non dimensionalized for facilitating the order of magnitude analysis. In order to do the stability analysis, variables are represented as the sum of their steady values and deviation from the steady state. A harmonic time dependence is assumed for the perturbations. For the transverse mode of oscillations independent variables of the zeroth order equations are r and θ only and the dependant variables are not functions of the axial distance. The axial dependence comes only through the first order equations. In this analysis, the wave motion in the combustion chamber is assumed to be linear, confining the nonlinearity to the vaporization process only. The reason behind making this assumption is that the vaporization process is the major mechanism driving the instability. Vaporization histories of liquid oxygen drops in a combustor with superimposed transverse oscillations were computed and stability characteristics of the engine were estimated. The stability characteristics of the engine are accessed from the solutions of first order equations. Effects of various parameters like droplet diameter, hydrogen injection temperature and hydrogen injection area on the stability characteristics of cryogenic engines are studied. A comparison of predicted and published experimental results was made which showed general agreement between experiment and computation. The present study and experimental results show clearly that hydrogen injection velocity is the critical parameter for instability rather than hydrogen injection temperature. What has happened in actual experiments when hydrogen injection temperature is varied is an effective alteration of the injection velocity that leads to the situation of instability. For higher relative velocity between hydrogen and liquid oxygen, the response of the vaporization rate in the presence of pressure wave is minimum compared to lower relative velocity. Due to this cryogenic engines will go to unstable mode at lower relative velocity.

Liquid methane is becoming an increasingly attractive rocket propellant due to its high performance characteristics and potential to support in-situ resource utilisation. Methane, however, when heated, can thermally decompose in a process known as pyrolysis. In regeneratively cooled rocket engines, the solid carbon products from the pyrolysis reactions are deposited on the walls of the cooling channels. This increases the thermal resistance of the channel walls, resulting in higher wall temperatures. In turn, this can facilitate cracking and crack propagation, presenting a potential problem in rockets, especially for future reusable designs. It will therefore be necessary to inspect the state of the cooling channels between flights. The carbon layer also changes the catalytic properties of the surface, affecting the onset temperature of methane pyrolysis, and thus impacting the pyrolysis behaviour during subsequent flights. It is possible to clean the channel using a mixture of gaseous oxygen and ozone, however, preliminary testing has indicated that not all the carbon is removed within a reasonable time frame. An experimental facility exists which can control the thermal and flow conditions in straight test channels to replicate the conditions seen in methane rocket nozzle cooling channels. The purpose of this project is to develop a system to quantitatively assess the amount of carbon deposition in these test channels after methane pyrolysis has occurred within them, and following ozone cleaning. The developed system is an optical method which uses a borescope to capture images within the coked channel. These images are then run through bespoke image processing software to determine the proportion of the inner channel wall that is coked. The software has been developed and a provisional mechanical setup has been designed. Initial validation tests have been conducted to assess the accuracy of the software used in conjunction with the borescope and camera. The results indicate that the system is capable of quantifying coke in a metal channel with an error of 1.489%±0.232% or less. / Flytande metan är på väg att bli ett mera attraktivt raketbränsle på grund av sina högprestanda-egenskaper samt potential för att stödja resursanvändning, in situ. Hursomhelst så kan metan, då uppvärmt, termiskt brytas ned i en process kallad pyrolys. I regenerativt kylda raketmotorer så utfälls de solida kolprodukterna från pyrolysen på väggarna av kylkanalerna. Detta höjer den termiska resistansen hos kanalens väggar vilket resulterar i högre väggtemperaturer. Detta kan, i sin tur, leda till spricktillväxt som väcker ett potentiellt problem med raketer, speciellt för framtida återanvändningsbara designer.Det kommer därför vara nödvändigt att inspektera skicket av kylkanalerna mellan flygningar. Kollagret förändrar också de katalyserande egenskaperna av ytan, vilket har en inverkan på begynnelsetemperaturen av metanpyrolys, som påverkar hur pyrolysen beter sig för följande flygningar.Däremot är möjligt att rena kanalerna genom att använda en blandning av syre i gasform, och ozon. Preliminära tester indikerar på att inte allt kol är borttaget inom en rimlig tidsram. En experimentell anläggning finns, som kan kontrollera tillstånd för värme och flöde i raka testkanaler för att replikera tillstånden som setts i kylkanaler i dysor för metanraketer. Syftet med detta projekt är att utveckla ett system för att kvatitativt bedöma mängden koldeposition i dessa testkanaler efter att pyrolys av metan har skett i dem, följt av ozon-rening. Det utvecklade systemet är en optisk metod som använder ett boroskop för att fånga bilder inuti den kanalen med koks. Dessa bilder körs genom ett skräddarsytt bildprocesseringsprogram för att bestämma proportionerna av den inre kanalväggen med koks. Mjukvaran har utvecklats och en provisorisk mekanisk anordning har utformats. Initiella valideringstester har genomförts för att bedöma noggrannheten av mjukvaran som använts i samband med boroskopet och kameran. Resultaten indikerar på att systemet är kapabelt att kvatifiera koks in en metallkanal med ett fel på 1,489%±0,232% eller mindre.

Cette thèse présente une extension de l'approche stochastique de l'atomisation primaire de type air assisté près d'un injecteur. Cette approche avait déjà été introduite dans les publications de Gorokhovski et al. Dans le cadre de la simulation des grandes échelles, la zone d'atomisation primaire est simulée comme un corps immergé avec une structure stochastique. Ce dernier est défini par la simulation stochastique de la position et de la courbure de l'interface entre le liquide et le gaz. La simulation de la position de l'interface est basée sur l'hypothèse de symétrie d'échelle pour la fragmentation. La normale extérieure à l'interface est modélisée en supposant une relaxation statistique vers l'isotropie. Les statistiques de la force du corps immergé servent de conditions aux limites pour le champ de vitesse issu de la LES ainsi que pour la production des gouttes de l'atomisation primaire. Celles-ci sont ensuite transportées par une approche lagrangienne. Les collisions entre les gouttes dans la zone d'atomisation primaire sont prises en compte par analogie avec l'approche standard de la théorie cinétique des gaz. Une fermeture est proposée pour la température statistique des gouttelettes. Cette approche est validée par des comparaisons avec les mesures expérimentales de la thèse de Hong. Les résultats numériques pour la vitesse et de la taille des gouttes dans le spray à différentes distances du centre du jet et de l'orifice de la buse sont relativement proches des résultats expérimentaux. Différentes conditions d'entrée pour la vitesse sont testées et comparées aux résultats expérimentaux. Par ailleurs, le rôle spécifique de la zone de recirculation devant le dard liquide est soulignée par le battement du dard liquide et la production de gouttelettes. / This thesis introduced an extension to stochastic approach for simulation of air-blast atomization closely to injector. This approach was previously proposed in publications of Gorokhovski with his PHD students. Our extension of this approach is as follows. In the framework of LES approach, the contribution of primary atomization zone is simulated as an immersed solid body with stochastic structure. The last one is defined by stochastic simulation of position-and-curvature of interface between the liquid and the gas. As it was done previously in this approach, the simulation of the interface position was based on statistical universalities of fragmentation under scaling symmetry. Additionally to this, we simulate the outwards normal to the interface, assuming its stochastic relaxation to isotropy along with propagation of spray in the down-stream direction. In this approach, the statistics of immersed body force plays role of boundary condition for LES velocity field, as well as for production of primary blobs, which are then tracked in the Lagrangian way. In this thesis, the inter-particle collisions in the primary atomisation zone are accounted also by analogy with standard kinetic approach for the ideal gas. The closure is proposed for the statistical temperature of droplets. The approach was assessed by comparison with measurements of Hong in his PHD. The results of computation showed that predicted statistics of the velocity and of the size in the spray at different distances from the center plane, at different distances from the nozzle orifice, at different inlet conditions (different gas velocity at constant gas-to-liquid momentum ratio, different gas-to-liquid momentum ratio) are relatively close to measurements. Besides, the specific role of recirculation zone in front of the liquid core was emphasized in the flapping of the liquid core and in the droplets production.

Cette thèse a pour objectif de démontrer l'intérêt des outils de diagnostic "intelligents" pour application sur les moteurs de fusée. En Europe beaucoup d'efforts ont été faits pour développer quelques techniques innovantes comme les réseaux neuronaux, les méthodes de suivi de raie vibratoire, ou l'identification paramétrique mais peu de résultats sont disponibles quant à la comparaison des performances de différents algorithmes. Un deuxième objectif de la thèse a été celui d'améliorer le système de diagnostic du banc d'essai Mascotte (ONERA/CNES). Il s'agit d'un banc de démonstration pour les moteurs de fusée de type cryogénique représentatif des conditions d'utilisation d'un vrai moteur. Les étapes de la thèse ont été en premier lieu de choisir et d'évaluer des méthodes de diagnostic à base de modèles, en particulier l'identification paramétrique et le filtre de Kalman, et de les appliquer pour le diagnostic d'un système critique du banc Mascotte: le circuit de refroidissement. Après une première validation des nouveaux algorithmes sur des données d'essais disponibles, un benchmark fonctionnel a été mis en place pour pouvoir comparer les performances des algorithmes sur différents types de cas de panne simulés. La dernière étape consiste à intégrer les algorithmes sur les ordinateurs du banc de contrôle de Mascotte pour pouvoir effectuer une évaluation applicative des performances et de leur intégrabilité à l'environnement informatique déjà en place. Un exemple simple de boucle de régulation intégrant l’information du diagnostic est aussi étudié pour analyser l’importance de telles méthodes dans le contexte plus large d’une régulation « intelligente » du banc. / The main objective of this work is to demonstrate and analyze the potential benefits of advanced real time algorithms for rocket engines monitoring and diagnosis. In the last two decades in Europe many research efforts have been devoted to the development of specific diagnostic technics such as neural networks, vibration analysis or parameter identification but few results are available concerning algorithms comparison and diagnosis performances analysis.Another major objective of this work has been the improvement of the monitoring system of the Mascotte test bench (ONERA/CNES). This is a cryogenic test facility based in ONERA Palaiseau used to perform analysis of cryogenic combustion and nozzle expansion behavior representative of real rocket engine operations.The first step of the work was the selection of a critical system of the bench, the water cooling circuit, and then the analysis of the possible model based technics for diagnostic such as parameter identification and Kalman filters.Three new algorithms were developed, after a preliminary validation based on real test data, they were thoroughly analyzed via a functional benchmark with representative failure cases.The last part of the work consisted in the integration of the diagnosis algorithms on the bench computer environment in order to prepare a set-up for a future real time application.A simple closed loop architecture based on the new diagnostic tools has been studied in order to assess the potential of the new methods for future application in the context of intelligent bench control strategies.

Le contexte de ce travail repose sur l'étude des instabilités de combustion au sein des moteurs-fusées à propergols liquides. Cette étude se concentre sur les effets des champs acoustiques transverses de haute amplitude sur l'injection coaxiale en conditions non-réactives. La réponse acoustique du système d'injection est dépendante des propriétés locales du champ acoustique dans la cavité d'injection. La modification du processus d'atomisation, induit par le champ acoustique, a été analysée dans des configurations simples et multiinjection. Des expériences ont été menées pour des régimes d'atomisation de faibles et hauts nombres de Weber. Trois phénomènes ont été observés: un aplatissement du jet, une amélioration du processus d'atomisation et la déviation du système liquide. La combinaison de ces trois phénomènes en configuration multi-injection résulte en un phénomène de regroupement de gouttes. En présence de combustion, un tel regroupement pourraitmener à un dégagement de chaleur non-uniforme susceptible de déclencher ou d'entretenir des instabilités de combustion. Un modèle théorique basé sur les équations d'acoustique non-linéaire a été développé pour donner les expressions générales de pression de radiation et de forces de radiations résultantes appliqué aux objets sphériques et cylindriques en champ stationnaire ou progressif. Le modèle a été utilisé pour interpréter et quantifier les observations expérimentales en configurations liquide/gaz, trans-critique/super-critique et gaz/gaz, et a permis de montrer que le nombre de Helmholtz qui caractérise le champ acoustique, et le rapport de densité qui caractérise les deux milieux, sont deux paramètres cruciaux. Les principales conclusions montrent que le phénomène observé peut être interprété comme résultant de l'acoustique non-linéaire, dont le paramètre clé étant le ratio de densité. Cela exige que la couche séparant les deux milieux, vue comme une interface, ne doive pas être réduite uniquement à une interface liquide/gaz. / The context of this work relies to high frequency combustion instabilities in Liquid Rocket Engines (LRE). The present research focuses on the effects of high amplitude transverse acoustic fields on non-reactive coaxial injection. The acoustic response of injection domes is found to be dependent on the local properties of the acoustic field in the injection cavity. The modification of the atomization process, induced by the acoustic field, has been analyzed in single and multi-injection configurations. Experiments were performed from low to high Weber number atomization regimes. Three phenomena are observed: jet flattening, improvement of the atomization process and deviation. The combination of these phenomena in multi-injection configurations leads to a droplet clustering phenomenon. In the presence of combustion, such a clustering could lead to non-uniform heat release rate which can trigger or sustain combustion instabilities. A theoretical model based on non-linear acoustics has been developed, providing general expressions of radiation pressure and resulting radiation force, for spherical and cylindrical objects in standing and progressive wave field. The model has been successfully used to interpret and quantify experimental observations in liquid/gas, trans-critical/super-critical and gas/gas configurations and showed that the Helmholtz number α characterizing the acoustic field and the density ratio η characterizing the two media are two parameters of importance. The major conclusions are that the observed phenomena can be interpreted as resulting from non-linear acoustics, the key feature being the density ratio. It is claimed that the layer separating the two media, seen as an interface, does not need to be restricted only to a liquid/gas interface.

The present research project is carried out at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (Rhode-Saint-Genèse, Belgium) with the financial support of the European Space Agency.<p><p>The first stage of spacecrafts (e.g. Ariane 5, Vega, Shuttle) generally consists of large solid propellant rocket motors (SRM), which often consist of segmented structure and incorporate a submerged nozzle. During the combustion, the regression of the solid propellant surrounding the nozzle integration part leads to the formation of a cavity around the nozzle lip. The propellant combustion generates liquefied alumina droplets coming from chemical reaction of the aluminum composing the propellant grain. The alumina droplets being carried away by the hot burnt gases are flowing towards the nozzle. Meanwhile the droplets may interact with the internal flow. As a consequence, some of the droplets are entrapped in the cavity forming an alumina puddle (slag) instead of being exhausted through the throat. This slag reduces the performances.<p><p>The aim of the present study is to characterize the slag accumulation process in a simplified model of the MPS P230 motor using primarily optical experimental techniques. Therefore, a 2D-like cold-gas model is designed, which represents the main geometrical features of the real motor (presence of an inhibitor, nozzle and cavity) and allows to approximate non-dimensional parameters of the internal two-phase flow (e.g. Stokes number, volume fraction). The model is attached to a wind-tunnel that provides quasi-axial flow (air) injection. A water spray device in the stagnation chamber realizes the models of the alumina droplets, which are accumulating in the aft-end cavity of the motor.<p><p>To be able to carry out experimental investigation, at first the the VKI Level Detection and Recording(LeDaR) and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurement techniques had to be adapted to the two-phase flow condition of the facility.<p><p>A parametric liquid accumulation assessment is performed experimentally using the LeDaR technique to identify the influence of various parameters on the liquid deposition rate. The obstacle tip to nozzle tip distance (OT2NT) is identified to be the most relevant, which indicates how much a droplet passing just at the inhibitor tip should deviate transversally to leave through the nozzle and not to be entrapped in the cavity.<p><p>As LeDaR gives no indication of the driving mechanisms, the flow field is analysed experimentally, which is supported by numerical simulations to understand the main driving forces of the accumulation process. A single-phase PIV measurement campaign provides detailed information about the statistical and instantaneous flow structures. The flow quantities are successfully compared to an equivalent 3D unsteady LES numerical model.<p><p>Two-phase flow CFD simulations suggest the importance of the droplet diameter on the accumulation rate. This observation is confirmed by two-phase flow PIV experiments as well. Accordingly, the droplet entrapment process is described by two mechanisms. The smaller droplets (representing a short characteristic time) appear to follow closely the air-phase. Thus, they may mix with the air-phase of the recirculation region downstream the inhibitor and can be carried into the cavity. On the other hand, the large droplets (representing a long characteristic time) are not able to follow the air-phase motion. Consequently, a large mean velocity difference is found between the droplets and the air-phase using the two-phase flow measurement data. Therefore, due to the inertia of the large droplets, they may fall into the cavity in function of the OT2NT and their velocity vector at the level of the inhibitor tip.<p><p>Finally, a third mechanism, dripping is identified as a contributor to the accumulation process. In the current quasi axial 2D-like set-up large drops are dripping from the inhibitor. In this configuration they are the main source of the accumulation process. Therefore, additional numerical simulations are performed to estimate the importance of dripping in more realistic configurations. The preliminary results suggest that dripping is not the main mechanism in the real slag accumulation process. However, it may still lead to a considerable contribution to the final amount of slag.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished