Experimental study of Cryogenic jet injection using centrifugal nozzles at supercritical pressure

• Published in: Acta astronautica Vol. 221; pp. 240 - 254
• Main Authors: Fang, Zixuan, Qiao, Wentong, Mo, Caoxing, Li, Jingxuan, Yang, Lijun, Fu, Qingfei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2024
• Subjects: Centrifugal nozzles; Cryogenic liquids; Penetration distance; Spray cone angle; Trans-critical; Trans-critical; Cryogenic liquids; Penetration distance; Centrifugal nozzles; Spray cone angle
• ISSN: 0094-5765; 1879-2030
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2024.05.025

The new generation of large-thrust rockets commonly employ cryogenic liquids such as liquid hydrogen (LH2), liquid oxygen (LOX), and methane as propellants. Conventional analytical methods established under subcritical (specifically, low-pressure) conditions are inadequate for addressing the atomization issues under trans-critical and supercritical conditions. Therefore, conducting experimental research on atomization of cryogenic fluids under supercritical conditions holds significant practical value. This paper employs liquid nitrogen (LN2) as the working fluid and focuses on conducting injection atomization experiments on LN2 under supercritical pressure conditions. The research involves the design and construction of an experimental system for supercritical cryogenic fluid injection, with the aim of measuring and studying the spray characteristics of centrifugal nozzles under various conditions. Three major categories of experiments were designed for low-temperature LN2 injection: subcritical nitrogen into subcritical environment (BB), subcritical nitrogen into supercritical environment (BP), and supercritical nitrogen into supercritical environment (PP). The experimental results ultimately reveal that for jets in BB, both the spray cone angle and the breakup length increase with higher injection pressure drop. In the case of BP, the spray cone angle decreases while the penetration distance increases with higher pressure drop. As for the jets in PP, the spray cone angle increases and the penetration distance decreases with higher injection pressure drop. Across different geometric parameters of the centrifugal nozzle, it was observed that with an increase in the geometric parameter, the rate of decrease in the spray cone angle with respect to pressure drop amplifies, and the penetration distance exhibits an increasing trend as the geometric parameter grows. •An experimental system designed for the atomization of cryogenic fluids, such as liquid nitrogen (LN2), under supercritical pressure conditions is designed.•The research provides an in-depth analysis of how different environmental and operational conditions (subcritical/subcritical, subcritical/supercritical, and supercritical/supercritical environments) affect key parameters of LN2 spray, including spray cone angle, penetration distance, and breakup length.•The characteristic parameters of trans-critical jets are significantly influenced by centrifugal nozzles with different geometric characteristic coefficients.