PhD Defense: ANTOINE MOUZE-MORNETTAS
Tuesday 10 October 2023 at 14h00
CNRS ICARE – Orléans - France Organized by Nathalie BROUSSET
“Modelling and reduction of the LOx-Methane chemical kinetics for rocket engine applications”
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Abstract :
As the space market becomes increasingly competitive, reusable launch vehicles are seen as a key technology to significantly reduce the cost of access to orbit. As it represents the best cost-performance compromise, methane is considered as a solution for future reusable engines. However, the operating conditions of rocket engines are extreme in terms of temperature and pressure, hence prohibitive for most existing experimental devices. Thus, there is a fundamental lack of knowledge about the kinetics of methane oxycombustion.
To obtain a valid kinetic model, an experimental database of flame velocity 
representative of the application conditions is built using the OPTIPRIME isochoric combustion chamber developed at ICARE (CNRS). A wide range of equivalence ratios, pressure and temperature never explored before for these mixtures is constructed. A selection of different recent mechanisms is then compared to the experimental results. The mechanism with the smallest deviation from experiment (POLIMI C1-C3) is used as a starting point for an optimization process on the experimental database using the OPTISMOKE++ tool. Hence, a kinetic model adapted to CH4/O2 combustion under rocket engine conditions is obtained. Finally, the model is tested in a high-fidelity 3D LES simulation of a single-engine rocket configuration at 100 bar (REST HF-10) with the AVBP code developed at CERFACS. The obtained results are compared to existing models. The main characteristics of the flame are recovered but with a more complex structure, thus underlining the interest of an optimized chemistry.
Jury :
| Frédérique BATTIN-LECLERC | CNRS LRGP, Université de Lorraine | Referee |
| Guillaume RIBERT | CNRS CORIA, INSA Rouen Normandie | Referee |
| Aurélie NICOLE | ONERA, Palaiseau | Jury member |
| Annafederica URBANO | ISAE SUPAERO, Toulouse | Jury member |
| Guillaume DAYMA | CNRS ICARE, Université d’Orléans | Jury member |
| Florian MONNIER | ArianeGroup, Site de Vernon | Invited member |
| Miguel MARTIN-BENITO | CNES, Paris Daumesnil | Invited member, Industrial advisor |
| Fabien HALTER | CNRS ICARE, Université d’Orléans | Advisor |
| Bénédicte CUENOT | CERFACS, Toulouse | Advisor |
