Direct, Continuous Condensation of Steam in Flowing Water

摘要

In some liquid-propellant rocket engines, the liquid-oxygen (LOX) boost pump is driven by a turbine that is powered by high-pressure gaseous oxygen. Once it exits the turbine, this gaseous oxygen can be salvaged by injecting it into the subcooled LOX exiting the boqst pump. If the main LOX pump is to function correctly under these circumstances, complete condensation of the gaseous oxygen must quickly follow its injection into the boost-pump discharge. The current investigation uses steam and water in a simple rig that allows the condensation process to be visualized and quantified. This paper offers dimensionless-parameter correlations of the data and trends observed.