Numerical Simulation of the Self-Heating Effect Induced by Electron Beam Plasma in Atmosphere

For exploiting advantages of electron beam air plasma in some unusual applications, a Monte Carlo （MC） model coupled with heat transfer model is established to simulate the characteristics of electron beam air plasma by considering the self-heating effect. Based on the model, the electron beam induced temperature field and the related plasma properties are investigated. The results indicate that a nonuniform temperature field is formed in the electron beam plasma region and the average temperature is of the order of 600 K. Moreover, much larger volume pear-shaped electron beam plasma is produced in hot state rather than in cold state. The beam ranges can, with beam energies of 75 keV and 80 keV, exceed 1.0 m and 1.2 m in air at pressure of 100 torr, respectively. Finally, a well verified formula is obtained for calculating the range of high energy electron beam in atmosphere.

Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Electron Beam Air Plasma Properties at Moderate Pressure

Large size of air plasma at near atmospheric pressure has specific effects in aerospace applications. In this paper, a two dimensional multi-fluid model coupled with Monte Carlo （MC） model is established, and some experiments were carried out to investigate the characteristics of electron beam air plasma at pressure of 100-170 Torr. Based on the model, the properties of electron beam air plasma are acquired. The electron density is of the order of 1016 m-3 and the longitudinal size can exceed 1.2 m. The profiles of charged particles demonstrate that the oxygen molecule is very important for air plasma and its elementary processes play a key role in plasma equilibrium processes. The potential is almost negative and a very low potential belt is observed at the edge of plasma acting as a protection shell. A series of experiments were carried out in a low pressure vacuum facility and the beam plasma densities were diagnosed. The experimental results demonstrate that electron density increased with the electron beam energy, and the relatively low pressure was favorable for gaining high density plasma. Hence in order to achieve high density and large size plasma, it requires the researchers to choose proper discharge parameters.

Study of double-chamber air arc plasma torch and the application in solid-waste disposal

Arc plasma can be applied in hazardous solid waste disposal for higher temperature than common heating methods,but some practical issues exist in practical engineering application.In this study,an air arc plasma torch with double chambers and magnetic controlling is designed to realize wide variable power and long electrode life.The detailed characteristics and laws of the air arc are studied.The condition parameters of arc current(I),air flow rate(G)and the structure parameters of inlet area ratios and electrode diameters influence both the arc voltage and arc root positions.The arc rotating driven by magnetic field effectively lengthens the electrode life.The gasification process and product of organic wastes by air plasma are influenced largely by the waste compositions and the air flow rate.A furnace structure with more even atmosphere and longer residence time should be considered for better gasification.Oxygen-deficient environment is important to suppress NOxformation during the application of air plasma.Inorganic solid wastes can be melt by the air plasma and cooled down to form compact vitreous structures in which heavy metals can be locked and the leaching rates significantly decrease down.

Numerical simulation of inducing characteristics of high energy electron beam plasma for aerodynamics applications

potential flow control method for large scale flow.In this paper,a computational fluid dynamics model coupled with a multi-fluid plasma model is established to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics induced by electron beam plasma.The results demonstrate that the electron beam strongly influences the flow properties,not only in the boundary layers,but also in the main flow.A weak shockwave is induced at the electron beam injection position and develops to the other side of the wind tunnel behind the beam.It brings additional energy into air,and the inducing characteristics are closely related to the beam power and increase nonlinearly with it.The injection angles also influence the flow properties to some extent.Based on this research,we demonstrate that the high energy electron beam air plasma has three attractive advantages in aerodynamic applications,i.e.the high energy density,wide action range and excellent action effect.Due to the rapid development of near space hypersonic vehicles and atmospheric fighters,by optimizing the parameters,the electron beam can be used as an alternative means in aerodynamic steering in these applications.

New Power for Boosting China's Aerospace Industry

China's new-generation launch vehicle LM-5 successfully completed its maiden launch in November 2016.Among the new technologies applied in the launch vehicle,four types of liquid rocket engines attracted extensive attention.These engines feature advanced concepts and technologies such as a staged combustion cycle and expander cycle.The engines are the results of hard effort of more than ten years,which is also an epitome of the development history of China's aerospace industry.This paper gives a brief introduction to the technological schemes,main parameters,development process and application of the four types of engines that powered the new-generation launch vehicle.Finally,proposals for new liquid propulsion technology development in the future in China are presented.

中国航天主动力液体火箭发动机技术进展

Liquid propellant rocket engines for a launch vehicle are an essential aerospace technology, representing the advanced level of hi-tech in a country. In recent years, China’s aerospace industry has made remarkable achievements, and liquid rocket engine technology has also been effectively developed. In this article, the development processes of China’s liquid rocket engines are discussed. Then, the performance features of China’s new generation liquid rocket engines as well as the flight tests of the new-generation launch vehicles are introduced. Finally, the development direction and the most recent progress of the next generation large-thrust liquid rocket engine is presented.

大推力液体火箭发动机推力调节技术综述

Throttling of large-thrust liquid rocket engines,which can improve mission adaptability of a carrier rocket,reduce risk and facilitate rocket recovery,is a key technology for current and future space development.This paper summarizes the state of the art and trends of throttling technology for large-thrust liquid rocket engines at home and abroad.According to the working principles of propulsion for rocket engines,throttling the propellant flow rate is a major way of adjusting thrust,and regulation devices along with adjustable injectors are primary measures of throttling propellant flow rates.This paper clarifies the working principles of typical regulation devices and adjustable injectors,introduces the regulation schemes of typical large-thrust engines such as YF-100,RD-170,and SSME,and summarizes the main characteristics of current throttleable large-thrust engines.Finally,critical technologies and development trends of throttling are discussed,including combustion stability and reliable cooling of thrust chambers at low thrust levels,turbopump stability,and stable regulation and precise control in a wide range of operating conditions.

可重复使用液体火箭发动机关键技术研究

Based on current research,the development trend of reusable liquid rocket engines was analyzed.Key technologies and research focuses of the reusable liquid rocket engine have been analyzed and summarized,and then suggestions on the development of future key technologies are proposed.

Experimental investigation of thermal effect on cavitation characteristics in a liquid rocket engine turbopump inducer

The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of water temperature on cavitation characteristics in a turbopump inducer,a series of experiments at different temperatures have been conducted in a newly developed visualization test facility.It is found that higher temperature shows little influence on the non-cavitation performance and breakdown characteristic in the investigated range.The relationship between cavitation development and pressure fluctuation has been discussed in detail.Higher temperature displays a remarkable stabilization effect on the cavitation excited pressure.In particular,the inception cavitation numbers of both the super-synchronous rotating cavitation and synchronous rotating cavitation are decreased at higher temperatures,and the corresponding frequencies are not affected,while the amplitudes are distinctly reduced,and the occurrence range of synchronous rotating cavitation is significantly narrowed.A generalized RayleighPlesset equation has been employed to account for the thermal effect on the bubble development,which may provide a deep insight in understanding the experimental results.Thermal effect is found to act as a remarkable dissipation mechanism to suppress the bubble growth,smooth the collapse.In particular,the excited pressure during collapse is smaller at higher temperatures,which may lead to the stabilization effect of high temperature in this study.

Experimental investigation of cavitation instabilities in inducer with different tip clearances

To investigate the effect of tip clearance size on cavitation characteristics in a turbopump inducer,a series of experiments have been conducted in a newly developed visualization test facility using room temperature water as working fluid.The pressure fluctuations near the tip region were collected,and the cavity structures under various conditions were documented by a high-speed camera.It is found that large tip clearance distinctly reduces both the non-cavitation and cavitation performance.Three cavitation instabilities,super-synchronous rotating cavitation,synchronous rotating cavitation and cavitation surge have been carefully identified through combination of cross-correlation analysis of pressure signals and visualization results.Large tip clearance displays a remarkable stabilization effect on pressure fluctuation,cavitation surge totally disappears,and the range of occurrence of synchronous rotating cavitation becomes smaller for the large tip clearance,whereas super-synchronous rotating cavitation only occurs in the large tip clearance.The cavitation areas are smaller at large tip clearance,while the flow channels are more seriously choked when cavitation occurs heavily in comparison with those at small tip clearance,which may be responsible for the worse cavitation performance.