Student: Zev Granowitz
Project: Diffusion Plate Fuel Injection into Cavity Flame-Holders in Supersonic Cross-Flow
View: Research Poster (PDF)
Institution: Lafayette College
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Toby Rossmann
Abstract
Air breathing hypersonic flight systems, Mach number M>5, have long been sought after as the next stage in fast and efficient earth travel and space access. Scramjets fill this need and utilize engine geometry to compress and decelerate air for combustion at supersonic speeds. One of the major challenges in developing scramjet engines is sustaining stable combustion. Combustion requires mixing between fuel and air, which is difficult in the high-speed supersonic crossflow through scramjet engines. To address this, a cavity can be created on the side of the engine, known as a cavity flame-holder. The cavity creates trapped vortices, allowing for slow air circulation and fuel-air mixing. Previous research has explored the use of fuel injection into cavity flame-holders at high momentum ratios to increase mixing, which disrupts the natural recirculation zones that form in the cavity. Instead of using high momentum ratio jets, this research aims to increase the mixing in a cavity flame-holder using evenly distributed fuel diffusion along the entire bottom surface of the cavity to improve combustion stability. Testing is conducted in the Lafayette College Expansion Tube and results are based on flame size as measured by standard high-speed imaging and high-speed CH* chemiluminescence imaging. These results are then compared to high momentum ratio fuel injection from single and multiple distinct jets.
About Zev Granowitz
Zev Granowitz, a senior mechanical engineering student with a minor in economics at Lafayette College, is an undergraduate research student in the Laboratory for Undergraduate Combustion and Hypersonics (LAUNCH). LAUNCH research studies high-speed flows, with applications in propulsion, re-entry, and more. The lab contains the Lafayette College Expansion Tube, which is an impulse facility capable of creating short test time, high-speed flows. In addition to research, Zev is involved with ASME, TBP, Running Club, and the Hillel Society on campus. Following graduation, Zev will be pursuing a PhD in engineering.