Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Committee Chair
John W. Bennewitz
Committee Member
Kunning G. Xu
Committee Member
David M. Lineberry
Research Advisor
John W. Bennewitz
Subject(s)
Calorimeters--Design and construction, Additive manufacturing, Heat--Transmission, Heat flux, Space vehicles--Propulsion systems, Rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE)
Abstract
Rotating detonation rocket engines (RDREs) offer benefits over traditional deflagrative engines, including increased engine performance, compact combustion and negligible detrimental thermoacoustic instabilities due to mode-locking. Realizing the benefits of a detonation-based propulsion system will be accompanied by increased thermal loads due to a combination of heat release at elevated pressure and temperature, as well as compact heat release due to detonation. Managing these heat loads necessitates the development of thermal management strategies. As a first step towards establishing the requirements for detonation-based engine thermal management strategies, this work develops an additively manufactured (AM) water-based, axially resolved calorimeter for integration in an existing 76.8 mm outer diameter (OD) RDRE to measure average chamber heat flux. In particular, the calorimetry outer body provides average heat flux data via circumferential channels at nine axial stations to axially resolve the heat flux distribution on the chamber outer wall. The average heat flux is found to be 6.6 − 16.3 MW/m2 for a straight annulus and 11.4−20.5 MW/m2 for a constricted annular configuration which exhibited maximum heat flux at the throat. By quantifying the axial distribution of heat flux, this work seeks to support the development of thermal management systems for long duration firing of detonation-based devices.
Recommended Citation
Maybee, Matthew Aaron, "Average heat flux measurements in an additively manufactured rotating detonation rocket engine calorimeter" (2025). Theses. 756.
https://louis.uah.edu/uah-theses/756