Publication Date:
2019-08-14
Description:
In order to evaluate the post combustion behavior of boric oxide, pentaborane-air mixtures, burned to completion at a combustor pressure of 3 atmospheres, were expanded through a 7.1-inch-long convergent-divergent nozzle having a 4-inch-diameter throat and an exit-to-throat area ratio of 1.68. The experimentally determined thrust performance was in good agreement with the ideal equilibrium performance at stagnation temperatures of 3300 deg R and lower. The boric oxide vapor at the combustor exit required about 400 F deg supercooling before any condensed phase was observed. For a given thrust, fuel consumption was as much as 20 percent greater than predicted from vapor-pressure data for combustor outlet temperatures i n the vicinity of 3600 deg R. A similar result could be expected in full-scale engines, since the test combustor provided an unusually long dwell time and a highly turbulent environment. During the expansion process, the vapor (when present) did not condense to the extent predicted for an equilibrium expansion process. Moreover, condensation was observed only i n the form of small, abrupt phase changes i n the subsonic flow near the throat. Friction, due to liquid boric oxide films on the nozzle surfaces, was negligible when the surface temperature was above 800 F.
Keywords:
THERMODYNAMICS AND COMBUSTION
Type:
NACA-RM-E57I20
Format:
application/pdf
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