The interest on using LOX/methane as a propellant combination for rocket engine propulsion has been reignited due to recent developments in commercial space exploration, along with a deep desire to drive down the cost of space commercialization. Despite its documented potential as a strong alternative for bipropellant systems, this combination still requires fundamental characterization. The spray atomization of the propellants as they are injected into the combustion chamber is among the areas that are yet to be fully explored. The Center for Space Exploration Technology Research (cSETR) has developed a visually accessible combustion chamber and a set of shear coaxial injectors that enable the experimental research necessary to better anchor already available computational models. The project described by the present document focuses on the effect of injector geometry on the liquid jet breakup process and specifically investigates the phenomenon using transparent media visualization techniques, most presently, shadowgraph imaging on cold flow.
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