Acoustic tuning of gas–liquid scheme injectors for acoustic damping in a combustion chamber of a liquid rocket engine

In a combustion chamber of a liquid rocket engine, acoustic fine-tuning of gas–liquid scheme injectors is studied numerically for acoustic stability by adopting a linear acoustic analysis. Injector length and blockage ratio at gas inlet are adjusted for fine-tuning. First, acoustic behavior in the combustor with a single injector is investigated and acoustic-damping effect of the injector is evaluated for cold condition by the quantitative parameter of damping factor as a function of injector length. From the numerical results, it is found that the injector can play a significant role in acoustic damping when it is tuned finely. The optimum tuning-length of the injector to maximize the damping capacity corresponds to half of a full wavelength of the first longitudinal overtone mode traveling in the injector with the acoustic frequency intended for damping in the chamber. In baffled chamber, the optimum lengths of the injector are calculated as a function of baffle length for both cold and hot conditions. Next, in the combustor with numerous resonators, peculiar acoustic coupling between a combustion chamber and injectors is observed. As the injector length approaches a half-wavelength, the new injector-coupled acoustic mode shows up and thereby, the acoustic-damping effect of the tuned injectors is appreciably degraded. And, damping factor maintains a near-constant value with blockage ratio and then, decreases rapidly. Blockage ratio affects also acoustic damping and should be considered for acoustic tuning.