Coupling behaviour of LOx/H₂ flames to longitudinal and transverse acoustic instabilities

Abstract

A rectangular combustor with acoustic forcing was used to study flame-acoustic interaction under injection conditions which are representative of industrial rocket engines. Hot-fire tests using liquid oxygen and gaseous hydrogen were conducted at pressures of 40 and 60 bar, which are sub- and supercritical conditions respectively for oxygen. To our knowledge, acoustic forcing has never before been conducted at pressures this high in an oxygen-hydrogen system. Examined samples of hydroxyl-radical emission imaging, collected using a high-speed camera during periods of forced acoustic resonance, show significant response in the multi-injection element flame. Transverse acoustic velocity causes shortening of the flame, concentrating heat release near the injection plane. Fluctuating acoustic pressure causes in-phase fluctuation of the emission intensity. Based on these observations, a theorized flame-acoustic coupling mechanism is offered as an explanation for how naturally occurring high frequency combustion instabilities are sustained in real rocket engines. © 2012 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.