Boron Particle Combustion in Solid Rocket Ramjets
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 28, Issue 4
Abstract
For the combustion research of boron particles in solid rocket ramjets, a new experimental system has been developed, which can be used to mimic the flow field conditions in solid rocket ramjets with high temperature, pressure, and convection. The combustion processes in the afterburning section were recorded by a high-speed photography system through two quartz windows. Sampling devices have been designed and used to collect solid combustion products during tests. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs of the collected solid products show that agglomeration was formed while boron particles were heated and combusted. With the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron diffraction spectra (EDS) results, reaction rate and complete reaction rate of boron have been defined and investigated at different points in the experimental system. It was concluded that the value of boron reaction rate is the lowest in the region around the air entrances and the highest in the next region downstream. The complete reaction rate of boron, which was defined as the proportion of the mass of boron oxidized to to the mass of boron combusted, revealed that only a part of the consumed boron was oxidized to . However, the value of the complete reaction rate changed little in the whole experimental system. Some suggestions for optimizing afterburner structure to get high boron reaction rate and high potential energy release have been given.
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Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 51276194).
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Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 28 • Issue 4 • July 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 19, 2013
Accepted: Jun 9, 2014
Published online: Aug 14, 2014
Discussion open until: Jan 14, 2015
Published in print: Jul 1, 2015
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