Observation of LOX/Hydrogen Combustion Flame in a Rocket Chamber During Chugging Instability

To obtain concrete information on the mechanism of unstable combustion of liquid oxygen-hydrogen rocket engines, a rectangular rocket chamber with four glass windows was developed. The chamber was designed to simulate a 100-kN-sized cylindrical rocket chamber. Combustion tests were conducted at a chamber pressure of 1.7MPa. Combustion flames and oxygen jets were visualized with a high-speed video at a rate of 4,000 frame/s during low frequency unstable combustion. Oxygen jet images with a backlight, combustion flame and intensity of combustion flame were obtained. Stability analysis based on the double time lag model by Szuch was conducted to assist the understanding of the mechanism of unstable combustion.