Numerical investigation of the combustion characteristics of hydrogen and oxygen in a microthruster

摘要

Recent efforts have developed hydrogen and oxygen propellant-based (HOP) microthruster systems. In this study, a novel microthruster was investigated numerically. The combustion and mixing characteristics of hydrogen and oxygen were investigated numerically according to a variety of inlet flow rates and equivalence ratios in a 3-dimensional microthruster. Results demonstrated that when the equivalence ratio equalled 2, the temperature was the highest. When the equivalence ratio equalled 4, the specific impulse peaked. With identical equivalence ratios, as the flow rate increases, the temperature and specific impulse increased, and as the flow rates increases up to a certain value, the specific impulse changed more slowly. Computational results showed that the proposed microthruster could achieve steady combustion at various mass flow rates in all tested conditions. This study describes the relationship of the mixing performance and combustion characteristics with the equivalence ratio and flow rate, which provides a guideline for the design of novel microthrusters. (C) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.