INTERACTIONS OF FLUID OXYGEN DROPS IN FLUID HYDROGEN AT ROCKET CHAMBER PRESSURES

A model of fluid drop behavior in clusters has been developed includin g the interactions induced by the drop proximity. The model is based u pon the global conservation equations for the interstitial cluster reg ion coupled to isolated fluid drop equations previously developed. Hea t and mass transfer to the cluster are modeled using the Nusselt numbe r concept. Results from calculations for the LOx-H-2 system show the p redictions to be insensitive to the value of the Nusselt number over t hree orders of magnitude. The results also show that at fixed pressure , increased drop proximity induces increased accumulation of LO, in th e interstitial space inside the cluster. At fixed initial drop proximi ty, the gradients of the dependent variables become increasingly smear ed as the pressure increases; an opposite result from that obtained fo r isolated drops (Harstad K, Bellan J. Isolated fluid oxygen drop beha vior in fluid hydrogen at rocket chamber pressure. Int J Heat Mass Tra nsfer 1998;41.3537-50). It is thus inferred that clusters of drops mig ht be a desirable aspect in supercritical combustion because they aid interdiffusion of the reactive components. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science L td. All rights reserved.