Experimental Study on the Mass Flow Rate of the Self-Pressurizing Propellants in the Rocket Injector

Abstract

High vapor pressure propellants such as nitrous oxide are widely used in experimental hybrid and liquid rockets as they can be used in a self-pressurization mode, eliminating the need for external pressurization or pumps and simplifying the design of the rocket system. This approach causes the two-phase flow in the feed system and the injector orifices, which cannot be easily modeled and accounted for in the design. A dedicated test stand has been developed to better understand how the two-phase flow of the self-pressurizing propellant impacts the mass flow characteristics, enabling the simulation of the operating conditions in the rocket engine. The injectors have been studied in the range of ΔP. The flow regimes have been identified, which can be predicted by the SPI and HEM models. It has been shown that the two-phase flow quality upstream of the injector may impact the discharge coefficient in the SPI region and the accuracy of the HEM model. It has been found that the transition to the critical flow region depends on the L/D ratio of the injector orifice. A series of conclusions can be drawn from this work to design the rocket injector with a self-pressurizing propellant to better predict the mass flow rate and ensure stable combustion.