William Anderson

2001 - Professor
2011 - Director of Global Engineering Programs

Degrees

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, 1996
M.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Arizona, 1984
B.S., Chemistry, Arizona State University, 1979

Contact

701 W. Stadium Ave.
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2045

Office Phone: +1 765 49-62658
Email: wanderso@purdue.edu
Webpage: https://engineering.purdue.edu/AndersonAFOSR/

Interests

Chemical propulsion and design methodologies

Awards and Major Appointments

Global Engineering Program Director 2011 - 2014

Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), 2011

Best Paper Award, Liquid Propulsion Technical Committee, "Experimental Studies of Combustion Instabilities in a Single-Element Coaxial Swirl Injector," 41st AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, Tucson, Arizona, 10-13 July 2005, with K. Miller, J. Sisco, and N. Nugent.

Recipient, C.T. Sun Research Award, Oct. 2005.

Best Paper Award, "Design and Ground Testing of a Hydrogen Peroxide/Kerosene Combustor for RBCC Application," 39th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, Huntsville, Alabama, 20-23 July 2003.

Research Areas

Areas of research include combustion instability, ignition, cooling and heat transfer, and high pressure storage of hydrogen in metal hydride systems. Most of the research is conducted in the propulsion laboratories at the Maurice Zucrow Laboratory, and emphasizes the scale of these laboratories by conducting experiments in model test articles at realistic conditions. Many of the studies are "benchmark" experiments to obtain validation data for CFD models.

Combustion instability research is funded by NASA, AFOSR, Rolls-Royce, and includes benchmark experiments for CFD model validation, development of experimental techniques, instability mechanism studies, and development and validation of engineering level design analysis models. A novel model rocket combustor has been developed which can generate high amplitude instabilities.

Ignition research is funded by MDA, NASA and the Air Force, and is focused on "green" propulsion systems. Spark ignition work centers on the extension of Paschen's Law to higher pressures and increased reliability. Hypergolic ignition studies center on the development of an empirical database of the environmental effects on catalytically-loaded fuels.

Cooling and heat transfer research is funded by NASA, the Air Force, and Rolls-Royce. Supercritical cooling flows are studied experimentally in a super-scale high-aspect-ratio cooling channel and is coupled with computational work underway in Professor Merkle's group. The three-dimensional effects in a multi-element injector are being studied at pressures up to 80 atm in a model combustor that uses liquid oxygen and gaseous hydrogen as fuels. Thermal management for high-Mach vehicles via the use of endothermic fuels is being studied by measuring endotherms and coking characteristics in plug flow reactors.

The high-pressure hydrogen storage study is funded by General Motors and culminates in a demonstration of a vehicle-scale high-pressure metal hydride tank. This full-scale experiment involves fill and release rates optimized for automotive applications. Subscale tests will be used to validate the heat exchanger design analyses, empirically characterize the fill and vent processes, evaluate thermal and metal hydride particle management systems, and prove laboratory operations prior to full scale demonstration.

Publications

Selected Publications
Pons, A., Sardeshmukh, S., and Anderson, W., “Numerical solution of the pressure response to an unsteady heat release pulse in 1D,” Combustion and Flame, 226, April 2021, pp 505-522. 10.1016/j.combustflame.2020.08.014

Bedard, M.J., Sardeshmukh, S., Fuller, T.L., and Anderson, W.E., “Chemiluminescence as a Diagnostic in Studying Combustion Instability in a Model Rocket Combustor,” Combustion and Flame, 213, March 2020, pp. 211-225. 10.1016/j.combustflame.2019.11.039

Kasthuri, P., Pavithran, I., Pawar, S., Sujith, R., Gejji, R., and Anderson, W., “Dynamical systems approach to study thermoacoustic transitions in a liquid rocket combustor,” Chaos 29, 103115 (2019). 10.1063/1.5120429

Huang, C., Gejji, R., Anderson, W.E., Yoon, C., and Sankaran, V., “Combustion Dynamics in a Single-Element Lean Direct Injection Gas Turbine Combustor,” Combustion Science and Technology, July, 2019. DOI: 10.1080/00102202.2019.1646732.

Huang, C., Anderson, W.E., Merkle, C.L., and Sankaran, V., “Multi-fidelity Framework for Modeling Combustion Dynamics,” AIAA Journal, Vol. 57, No. 5, May 2019.

Fugger, C., Gejji, R., Portillo, J., Matsutomi, Y., Lucht, R., and Anderson, W., “A model combustor for studying a reacting jet in an oscillating crossflow,” Review of Scientific Instruments, 88, 065112, 2017.

Huang, C., Anderson, W.E., Harvazinski, M.., and Sankaran, V., “Analysis of Self-Excited Combustion Instabilities Using Decomposition Techniques,” AIAA Journal, 54, No. 9, 2016, pp 2791-2807.

Harvazinski, M., Huang, C., Sankaran, V., Feldman, T., Anderson, W. Merkle, C., and Talley, D. “Coupling between hydrodynamics, acoustics, and heat release in a self-excited unstable combustor,” Physics of Fluids, Vol. 27, 041502 (2015).

Selle, L., Blouquin, R., Theron, M., Dorey, L.-H., Schmid, M., and Anderson, W., “Prediction and Analysis of Combustion Instabilities in a Model Rocket Engine,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 30, No. 4 (2014), pp. 978-990.

Trebs, A., Roa, M., Heister, S., Anderson, W., and Lucht, R., “Ramp Injector Effects on Supersonic Combustion,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 30, No. 2, (2014), pp. 426-437.

Matsutomi, Y., Sisco, J., and Anderson, W., “Spontaneous Longitudinal Combustion Instability in a Continuously-Variable Resonance Combustor,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 28, No. 5, September-October 2012, pp 876-887.

Sisco, J., Yu, Y., Sankaran, V., and Anderson, W., “Examination of Mode Shapes in an Unstable Model Rocket Combustor,” Journal of Sound and Vibration, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsv.2010.07.016, Vol. 330, Issue 1, 3 January, 2011, pp. 61-74.

Smith, R., Xia, G., Anderson, W.E., and Merkle, C.L., “Computational Simulations of the Effect of Backstep Height on Nonpremixed Combustion Instability,” AIAA Journal, Vol. 48, No. 9, September 2010, pp. 1857-1868.

deRidder, M., and Anderson, W.E., “Heat Flux and Pressure Profiles in an Oxygen/Hydrogen Multielement Rocket Combustor,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 26, No. 4., July-August, 2010, pp. 696-705.

Yu, Y., Sisco, J.C., Sankaran, V., and Anderson, W.E., “Effects of Mean Flow, Entropy Waves, and Boundary Conditions on Longitudinal Combustion Instability,” Combustion Science and Technology, Volume 182, Issue 7, July 2010, pp 739-776.

Pearson, N.S., and Anderson, W.E., “Acoustic Response of a Resonance Igniter with Confuser Inlet,” AIAA Journal, Vol. 46, No. 4, April 2008, pp. 1013-1015.

Pourpoint, T.L., and Anderson, W.E., “Hypergolic Reaction Mechanisms of Catalytically Promoted Fuels with Rocket Grade Hydrogen Peroxide,” Combustion Science and Technology, Vol. 179, No. 10, October 2007, pp. 2107-2133.

Miller, K.J., Sisco, J.C., Nugent, N.N., and Anderson, W. E., “Combustion Instability with a Single Element Swirl Injector,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 23, No. 5, September-October 2007, pp. 1102-1112.

Sisco, J.C., Mok, J.-S., and Anderson, W.E., “Autoignition of Kerosene by Decomposed Hydrogen Peroxide in a Dump Combustor Configuration,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 21, No. 3, May-June, 2005, pp. 450-459.

Conference Proceedings, Presentations, Invited Lectures

Invited Lectures
“Overview of Combustion Stability Experiments in Rocket Combustors.” AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum and Exposition, Indianapolis, IN, August 19-22, 2019.

“A Hierarchal Study of Combustion Dynamics in Rocket Engines,” International Workshop on Space Propulsion. Harbin Institute of Technology, CHINA, September 2018.

“Combustion Dynamics in LRE Combustors,” Thermoacoustic Instabilities in Gas Turbines and Rockets, Technical University of Munich, GERMANY, May 2016.

“Propulsion Design, Build, Test at Purdue University,” Legacy of Robert Sackheim Special Session, 47th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, San Diego, CA, August 1-3, 2013.

“A Comprehensive Study of Combustion Dynamics in Model Rocket Combustors,” Propulsion for Space Applications, Politechnico Milan, Milan ITALY, June 28, 2013.

“Experimental Approaches for the Study of Combustion Instabilities in Liquid Rocket Engines,” Italian Aerospace Research Center (CIRA), Capua, ITALY, May 8, 2013.

“Validating Combustion Instability Models,” invited seminar, Ecole Centrale, Paris, FRANCE, June 29, 2012.

“Variable Resonance Combustor Results,” French/German/US Joint Symposium on Liquid Rocket Combustion Instabilities, London, ENGLAND, June 15-16, 2011.

“Assessment of NASA Space Launch Technology,” National Research Council panel on NASA Technologies, Pasadena, CA, March, 2011.

“REST Case HF-5, Continuously Variable Resonance Combustor,” 2nd REST Workshop on Combustion Instability Modeling, Ottobrunn, GERMANY, October 5-6, 2010.

“Research Needs in Liquid Rocket Engines,” Panel on Liquid Rocket Engines, AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference, Nashville, TN, July 26, 2010.

“LOX/LCH4 Combustion Instability,” La Sapienza Workshop on Methane-Fueled Rocket Engines, Rome, ITALY, June 9, 2010.

“Experimental and Modeling Tools for Fullscale Combustion Stability Risk Reduction,” invited presentation, AFOSR/NASA Office of Chief Engineer Strategic Planning Meeting in Chemical Propulsion, July 11, 2008.

“Investigations of Stability Margin in a Model Combustor with Multiple Injector Configurations,” International Symposium on Space Propulsion, Beijing, CHINA, October 8-12, 2007.

Books and Book Chapters
Sardeshmukh, S., Huang, C., Gejji, R., Bedard, M., Hallum, W., Lucht, R., and Anderson, W., “High-pressure experiments relevant to rocket propulsion,” Chapter 5 in High Pressure Flows for Propulsion Applications, edited by J. Bellan, AIAA Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics, Volume 260, 2019.

Heister, S., Anderson, W., Pourpoint, T., and Cassady, J., Rocket Propulsion, Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Yu, Y.-C., O'Hara, L., Smith, R., Anderson, W., and Merkle, C., “Integrated Method For Combustion Stability Prediction,” Advances in Aerospace Sciences, edited by DeLuca, Haidn, Bonnal, and Frolov, Vol. 2 - Propulsion Physics, 2011.

Anderson, W.E., Long, M.R., and Heister, S.D., “Liquid Bipropellant Injectors,” Liquid Rocket Thrust Chambers: Aspects of Modeling, Analysis, and Design, Chapter 4, AIAA Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics, Volume 200, pp. 141-165, 2004.

Anderson, W.E., “Rocket Propulsion,” in Encyclopedia of Energy, Elsevier Press, Cutler J. Cleveland Editor-in-Chief, pp. 483-491, 2004.

Anderson, W. E.,* Ryan, H. M., and Santoro, R. J., “Impinging Jet Injector Atomization,” Chapter 8 in Liquid Rocket Engine Combustion Instability, Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics, Volume 169, AIAA, Washington, DC, pp. 215-246, 1995.

Anderson, W. E., Liquid Rocket Engine Combustion Instability, co-edited with V. Yang, Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics, Volume 169, AIAA, Washington, DC, 1995.