67th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (November 23, 2014 — November 25, 2014)

V0083: Let's Light This Candle: Multimodality Imaging of Hyrbid Rocket Combustion

Authors

• Elizabeth Jens, Stanford University
• Victor Miller, Stanford University
• Flora Mechentel, Stanford University
• Brian Cantwell, Stanford University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/APS.DFD.2014.GFM.V0083

In this video, we visualize the combustion that occurs inside of a hybrid rocket motor.  Unlike conventional rocket motors, hybrid rockets motors use propellants in two different phases, one solid (e.g., parrafin wax as the fuel) and one either liquid or gas (e.g., liquid or gaseous oxygen).  Hybrids offer the potential for cleaner, cheaper, and safer rocket flight.  We use three different types of imaging to visualize the flow: 1) color video, which provides a view of the flame and its bright spots; 2) schlieren imaging, which images changes in density and shows us the extent of the mixing layer above the fuel grain; 3) and ultraviolet OH* chemiluminescence, which gives us a view into the flame where the combustion reactions are taking place.  Using these three imaging modalities, we can gain an understanding of how different fuels burn and why they burn the way they do.