. 24/7 Space News .
ROCKET SCIENCE
UCF researchers develop groundbreaking new rocket-propulsion system
by Staff Writers
Orlando FL (SPX) May 01, 2020

"As an advanced propulsion spectroscopist, I recognized some of the unique challenges in the observation of hydrogen-detonation structures," Hargus said. "After consulting with Professor Ahmed, we were able to formulate a slightly modified experimental apparatus that significantly increased the relevant signal strength."

A University of Central Florida researcher and his team have developed an advanced new rocket-propulsion system once thought to be impossible.

The system, known as a rotating detonation rocket engine, will allow upper stage rockets for space missions to become lighter, travel farther, and burn more cleanly.

The result were published this month in the journal Combustion and Flame.

"The study presents, for the first time, experimental evidence of a safe and functioning hydrogen and oxygen propellant detonation in a rotating detonation rocket engine," said Kareem Ahmed, an assistant professor in UCF's Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering who led the research.

The rotating detonations are continuous, Mach 5 explosions that rotate around the inside of a rocket engine, and the explosions are sustained by feeding hydrogen and oxygen propellant into the system at just the right amounts.

This system improves rocket-engine efficiency so that more power is generated while using less fuel than traditional rocket energies, thus lightening the rocket's load and reducing its costs and emissions.

Mach 5 explosions create bursts of energy that travel 4,500 to 5,600 miles per hour, which is more than five times the speed of sound. They are contained within a durable engine body constructed of copper and brass.

The technology has been studied since the 1960s but had not been successful due to the chemical propellants used or the ways they were mixed.

Ahmed's group made it work by carefully balancing the rate of the propellants, hydrogen and oxygen, released into the engine.

"We have to tune the sizes of the jets releasing the propellants to enhance the mixing for a local hydrogen-oxygen mixture," Ahmed said. "So, when the rotating explosion comes by for this fresh mixture, it's still sustained. Because if you have your composition mixture slightly off, it will tend to deflagrate, or burn slowly instead of detonating."

Ahmed's team also had to capture evidence of their finding. They did this by injecting a tracer in the hydrogen fuel flow and quantifying the detonation waves using a high-speed camera.

"You need the tracer to actually see that explosion that is happening inside and track its motion," he said. "Developing this method to characterize the detonation wave dynamics is another contribution of this article."

William Hargus, lead of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine Program, is a co-author of the study and began working with Ahmed on the project last summer.

"As an advanced propulsion spectroscopist, I recognized some of the unique challenges in the observation of hydrogen-detonation structures," Hargus said. "After consulting with Professor Ahmed, we were able to formulate a slightly modified experimental apparatus that significantly increased the relevant signal strength."

"These research results already are having repercussions across the international research community," Hargus said. "Several projects are now re-examining hydrogen detonation combustion within rotating detonation rocket engines because of these results. I am very proud to be associated with this high-quality research."

Research paper


Related Links
University of Central Florida
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


ROCKET SCIENCE
NASA Test Directors eagerly await Artemis launch
Kennedy Space Center FL (SPXR) Apr 28, 2020
Before NASA's mighty Space Launch System (SLS) rocket can blast off from the agency's Kennedy Space Center to send the Orion spacecraft into lunar orbit, teams across the country conduct extensive testing on all parts of the system. Guiding that effort at the Florida spaceport are NASA test directors, or NTDs. NTDs within the Exploration Ground Systems program are in charge of flight and ground hardware testing in Kennedy's Launch Control Center firing rooms 1 and 2, where activities involved with ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

ROCKET SCIENCE
180 day commercial Soyuz mission to ISS possible in 2022

Pentagon formally releases Navy videos of unidentified object encounters

Russian cargo capsule docks with ISS

Russian 'Victory Rocket' cargo flight docks at ISS

ROCKET SCIENCE
Solar One: A proposal for the first manned interstellar spaceship

Launches from Kourou to resume in June

NASA Test Directors eagerly await Artemis launch

Northrop says it's on schedule with next-generation OmegA rocket

ROCKET SCIENCE
Emirates first Mars mission ready for launch from Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre

Martian meteorites contain 4-billion-year-old nitrogen-bearing organic material

NASA's Mars Helicopter named Ingenuity

Promising signs for Perseverance rover in its quest for past Martian life

ROCKET SCIENCE
China builds Asia's largest steerable radio telescope for Mars mission

China recollects first satellite stories after entering space for 50 years

China's first Mars exploration mission named Tianwen-1

Parachutes guide China's rocket debris safely to earth

ROCKET SCIENCE
NASA's new solar sail system to be tested on-board NanoAvionics' satellite

Infostellar has raised a total of $3.5M in convertible bonds

SpaceX develops new sunshade to make Starlink satellites less visible from Earth

Momentus selected as launch provider for Swarm

ROCKET SCIENCE
Coding contest from NASA and Texas Instruments allows students to compete virtually to win out-of-this-world prizes

UAV Navigation integrates Sagetech Avionics' transponders for sense and avoidance

Heat-friendly microbes provide efficient way to biodegrade plastic

Scientists discover just how runny a liquid can be

ROCKET SCIENCE
Yale's EXPRES looks to the skies of a scorching, distant planet

Newly discovered exoplanet dethrones former king of Kepler-88 planetary system

Hubble observes aftermath of massive collision

Researchers use 'hot Jupiter' data to mine exoplanet chemistry

ROCKET SCIENCE
Mysteries of Uranus' oddities explained by Japanese astronomers

Jupiter probe JUICE: Final integration in full swing

The birth of a "Snowman" at the edge of the Solar System

New Horizons pushing the frontier ever deeper into the Kuiper Belt









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.