| UT LSAMP Research Projects |
| The University of Texas System LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation) program has recently provided scholarships and funds to support two current undergraduate student research projects at the Aerodynamics Research Center. The LSAMP program is aimed at increasing the amount of underrepresented minority students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. The projects have been selected and developed by the students, and both are integral towards future research plans for the ARC. |
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| Rotating Detonation Wave Engine with Swirled Fuel Injection (Nathan L. Dunn) |
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Unlike a PDE which relies on a detonation wave propagating through a combustion chamber before exhausting into the atmosphere, a rotating detonation wave engine (RDWE) utilizes a detonation wave traveling in an annulus to produce thrust. The geometry is this rotating detonation wave is such that thrust will be produced parallel to the axis of rotation. Only a few of these engines have been successfully tested, with major developmental hurdles to overcome in fuel injection, starting, and maintaining the detonation wave. The motivation behind this ongoing experimental project has been to test a method of swirled fuel injection into the annulus in order to make the detonation wave travel in one direction at the beginning of the experiment. So far, this manner of injection appears promising. More tests are underway to improve fuel injection and duration of the detonation wave. The diameter of the annulus is 9.5 inches, and it is connected to an annular aerospike nozzle. |
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| Still picture from one of the initial experiments. |
Initial engine mock-up. |
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| Optically Accessible Facility for Detonation Wave/Turbulence Interaction (Thania Balcazar) |
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In order to support computational simulations of detonation wave interaction with a turbulent flow, the design of a facility for validation of the results is currently in an initial phase and will begin construction this summer. Understanding the physics of this interaction is important for various turbulent mixing and propulsion applications. Existing components from the hypersonic shock tube will be incorporated into this design, where the primary design issues lie with integrating a new square cross-section tube to these round sections. A novel method for creating uniform turbulence prior to the interaction with a detonation or shock wave has been developed. The facility will be modular and modifications can be made for several future studies under discussion. The optically accessible test section will be designed to be integrated with our PIV, PLIF, and Schlieren systems. |
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| Simple schematic of the facility. |
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