Project Description

The goal of this project is to characterize the combustion process of a metallized solid fuel through combined high-fidelity simulations and laboratory experiments. Aluminum-particulate composite fuels have widely been used for solid rocket motors (e.g., Space shuttle’s solid booster) due to their high reactivity and energy density. The combustion process of these fuels is rich in phenomenology and has not been fully understood. At the propellant surface, aluminum particles can sinter and agglomerate to form large molten droplets, and these droplets can be shattered by micro-explosions to promote atomization. Characterizing and quantifying the micro-explosion dynamics are crucial to control the combustion characteristics of the fuels, but are challenging due to the complex and high-speed nature of the two-phase flow phenomena. To address this challenge, we will simulate the micro-explosion of aluminum alloy droplets using high-fidelity, full-Eulerian multi-component reacting flow simulations on supercomputers. A set of validation studies is performed by comparing the simulations with experimental data taken in the Zucrow propulsion laboratories of particles in a variety of combustion systems (particle-air or in solid propellants). This project's results will shed light on the complex process of metallized fuel combustion and can lead to improved performance of future rocket engines.  

Start Date

January 2025 or later

Postdoc Qualifications

Candidates should have a PhD in a relevant field (e.g., Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Applied Physics) or another related field. Experience in Python, and Fortran or C/C++ are needed. Experience with computational fluid dynamics interfacing with high-performance computing environments is preferred. Preference will be given to candidates with a strong publication record and good scientific communication skills. 

Co-advisors

Bilbliography