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(AIAA 94-2980) Laser Ignition in Liquid Rocket Engines
(AIAA 94-2980) Laser Ignition in Liquid Rocket Engines
30th AIAA/SAE/ASME/ASEE
Joint Propulsion Conference
June 27-29, 1994 / Indianapolis, IN
For permission to copy or republish, contact the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
370 L'EnfantPromenade, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024
. a -* -’ --.-A, L
Larry C. Liou
National. Aeronautics and Space Administration
Lewis Research Center
Cleveland, Ohio 44135
Three mechanisms of laser ignition were evaluated. One burning L O m - I ) used hypergolic ignition, but the
method, Laser Induced Spark (LIS) ignition, was tested hypergolic materials used are difficult to handle. Spark
and the results are presented. torch ignition, which has been used in many engines,
including the Space Shuttle Main Engine, can become
For the LIS ignition tests, a Nd:YAG laser, at a overly complex if used to ignite multiple chamber
wavelength of 1064 nm and repetition rates up to 20 Hz, compartments simultaneously.
was employed as the ignition source. The laser beam was
expanded and thcn focused through an optical window In order to find a simpler, yet reliable, ignition
into the propellant flow to initiate ignition. Four propel- system for future booster engine application, other
lant combinations were used in a subscale test engine at ignition systems have been studied3. In that study, various
thrust lcvcls of 133 to 445 N (30 to 100 Ibf). The propel- systems were evaluated using criteria such as compatibil-
Iant combinations were: GOWGHz, GOX/C& (gaseous), ity with LOX-hydrocarbon propellant combinations,
GOX/RP-l, and GOWCO (gaseous). Several parameters compatibility with baffled injectors, reliability, ease of
were varied in the tcsts: propellant mixture ratio, chamber use, and complexity. Among the systems studied, laser
pressure, Iascr energy, and laser repetition rate. ignition received a high overall rating. But the high rating
was based on many speculations because the ignition
Results presented include ignition outcomes and concept had never been applied in a liquid rocket engine.
ignilion delays. The results for GOWGHz, GOXCK&, and Therefore, a Laser Induced Spark (LIS) ignition program
GOWCO were found to conform to historical results was organized to experimentally evaluate the ignition
previously generated using an electric spark ignition concept in a small scale rocket engine with three propeI-
source. But OCWRP-1 differed from the previous results lant combinations: GOWGH2, GOXICa, and GOXIRP-
because of the fundamental differences in the ignition 1. Also, in order to assess the potential impact in a flight
mechanism between LIS and electric sparks. Also environment, the ElectroMagnetic Interference (EMT)
presented is measurement of the electromagnetic waves caused by the LIS’Swas evaluated. In addition to the
emitted by the LIS’Sat thc radio/rv frequencies. The above three propeIlant combinations, GOWCO was
emission level rncasured was negligiblc. briefly tested. This somewhat novel propellant combina-
tion has been envisioned for use as an in-situ manufac-
I. IntroductioB tured propellant on Mars. A previous investigation tested
the propellant combination for its ignition characteristics
High pressure booster engines burning liquid oxygen/ using ad electic spark ignitor.4 It was found that ignition
liquid methane (LOWCh),or liquid oxygenkerosene of the propeIlants was not possible without the addition of
(LOXIRP-l), have been shown in studies12 to be hydrogen. The difficulty was due to the high activation
potential candidates for future heavy lift launch vehicIes. energy needed for the GOWCO reaction, In this case, the
If these future engines are designed to have large combus- added hydrogen served as a catalyst to initiate the
tion chambers, then they require baffles to be installed on ignition. Based on speculation that the higher power
the injector face in order to suppress combustion instabil- contained in a LIS may fair better in this situation,
ity. The baffled compartments would require an ignition ignition tests were conducted.
system capable of uniformly igniting the propellants
J
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and Asuonautics. Inc. No copyright is as& in thc
Unitcd Sratcs undcr ‘IItlc 17. U.S. Code. Ttz US. Govcmwnt
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IT. Laser Ignition Mechanisms shock wave is responsible for ignition. To produce sparks
for ignition, laser beams are typically pulsed at a Q-switch
There are three mechanisms for laser ignition: pulse duration of nanoseconds, and focused to provide the
photochemical, thermal, and Laser Induced Spark (LIS) high power density required. Infrared (10.6 p)and near
ignition. In photochemical ignition, Iaser photons dissoci- infrared (1.06 p)are only two of the many wavelengths
ate the target molecules into highly reactive radical that have been used to ignite 0 2 / H 2 and hydrocarbon
species. These radicals then initiate a rapid chemical chain mixtures. LIS ignition is less selective in its laser wave-
reaction, or combustion. Photochemical ignition requires length than the other two mechanisms. In fact, as long as
a close march between the laser excitation wavelength and the laser power density, or irradiance, at the focus is
the target molecule’s absorption wavelength in order for sufficiently high to generate heat for ignition, it does not
dissociation to occur. Only at these matching (resonant) matter what laser wavelength i s used. This could bc a
wavelengths laser radiation can bring about dissociation major convenience when applying this ignition concept in
and start the combustion. For example, to dissociate flight applications, since powerful pocket-sized infrared
oxygen molecules, wavelength of 157 nm (F laser line) diode lasers, weighing just a few pounds, are now widely
and 193 nm (ArF laser line) have typically been used. avaiIable. LIS ignition has primarily been applied to
Unfortunately, the required wavelengths for photochemi- igniting gaseous mixtures, although in one instance it was
cal ignition are usually shorter than 700 nm, where used successfully to ignite liquid fuel.10 All three methods
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compact and lightweight lasers for flight applications may of applying laser for ignition have been investigated in the
no( be available. However, photachernical ignition past, and each ofthem has shown its own set of merits.
requires only a small amount of laser energy, typically Ultimately, the decision o f which mechanism to employ
less than a millijoule for O D 2 and some 0 2 and hydro- depends strongly upon the type of application. For the
carbon mi~tures.56~7 In comparison with other ignition present investigation, LIS ignition was chosen for testing
mechanisms,photochemical ignition can be used to ignite because it could be achieved with a wide range of
mixtures at lower pressure and closer to the flammability wavelengths using common optics and offering a better
limits, so long as a sufficient amount of reactive radicals prospect for an available flight-qualified laser in actual
can be generated from the target molecules. application. Also, it had shown reliability and an accept-
able ignition delay in the previous experiments.
The second mechanism, thermal ignition,a uses a
laser beam to increase the kinetic energy, in either In. Test D,escription
transIationa1, rotational, or vibrational form, of the target
molecules. As a result, the molecular bonds eventually are Objectives and Parameters
broken and chemical reactions take place. The ignition
delay time is typically longer than for the other two laser The objective of the tests was to gain insight into the
ignition mechanisms, and close matching between the feasibility and characteristics of LIS ignition in liquid
laser wavelength and the target molecule’s absorption rocket engines. The test program sought specific informa-
wavelength is also needed. Heating of the material is tion on ignition regimes and ignition delays in terms of
mostly done with infrared lasers, but not all of these lasers the engine pre-ignition chamber pressure, propellant
are available for flight applications. This mechanism is mixture ratio, and laser energy. Also of interest was the
uniquc in that it can easily be used to ignite combustibles level of electromagnetic waves at radio/TV frequencies
in combination of solid, liquid, and gas phases. In many emitted by the LIS’S.
applications, thermal ignition is employed for igniting
solids because of the absorption ability of the solids at Laser Ignition Svstem
infrared wavelengths. This ignition method has been used
in solid propellant rockets where the laser is used to first The ignition system used in the experiment consisted
ignite pyrotechnics, which then serve as an ignition of a laser and the beam-steering optics. They are shown in
source for the rocket propellants. Figs. 1 and 2. The laser was Nd:YAG with a wavelength
of 1.06 pin, a beam diameter of 9.5 m m and a Q-switch
In LIS ignition, a laser beam is focused to create a pulse duration of 9 nsec minimum. The puIse duration
plasma kernel, or spark, via either multiphoton absorp- actually used during the tests was approximately 100
tion, or the inverse bremsstrahlung process.9 This spark nsec, and this value is used to calculate the laser power in
emits light, heat, and a shock wave to the surrounding the following sections. The laser could be operated to
medium,supplying energy to initiate combustion. LIS yield either a single pulse or multiple pulses at a repetition
ignition is mainly a thermochemical process in which the rate up to 20 Hz. Pulse energy was adjustable from a few
heat generated in both the laser spark and the emanating millijoule to 1 J. The beam-steering optics, in the order
2
1
... ... .
-";
.I
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3
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3
. .
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."
Figure 5.--lnjectow shared by all gas~ouspropellants; one, thrm, and five elements COnCenPYlC
tubas,
Figure 6.--tnjmws far GOWRP-'I; gas-on liquid impinging pentad and Mplat elmvmts.
5
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6
rind
....‘
_:....
E.= Energy in a laser pulse, J
t = Pulse duration, s
A = Area of the laser focus, cm2
d = Diameter of the laser focal plane, crn
A = Laser wavelength, cm
f = Focal length, cm
di = Diameter of the laser beam entering focusing lens,
cm
referenced setups premixed the gases and ignited them at mkburr ratio,
a relatively nonflawing state. However, regardless of the Figure 9.--GOWGH2 ignltlon delay.
difference in the test setups, the result of the present
experiment conforms closely to these “approximate
ignition limits” as indicated by the figure. In other words, was 2.2X1011 W/cm2. When ignition attempts failed,
higher laser energy up to 122 mT near the limits of the
the flow speed of the combustible mixture seemed to have
a negligible effect on ignitian. This is attributed to the optics was used, but it was found that when the mixtures
rapid chain reaction found in an oxygedhydrogen system were not ignitable at lower laser energy they were also not
caused by the low activation threshold and fast kinetics. ignitable at a higher energy. This implies that the ignition
failed because of inadequacy of either the mixture ratio or
When the mixture ratio was low, at pressures from 50 to
350 kPa, the ignition firnits spanned from olf = 1.1 to 1.4. the pressure but not the ignition energy. The laser was
pulsed at 20 Hz in several runs where ignition had failed
-- The highest mixture ratio ignitable was o/f = 130.
using a single pulse, but still did not produce ignition.
The laser energy value used in the tests was approxi-
The ignition deIay times are plotted in Fig. 9. The
mately 80 mJ. This energy level produced consistent
pre-ignition pressure of the plotted points ranged from
sparks in the GOWGH2. The power density at the focus
103 to 317 kPa (15 to 46 psia). In the figure, a curve (the
dotted line) has been fitted to the data. As can be seen
from the curve, ignition delay timing was indeed a
function of the mixture ratio. At around the stoichiometric
value, ignition delay takes on the minimum. As the
mixture ratio deviates from the stoichiometric value,
ignition delay increases. The pressure variation was too
small to be a factor.
7
Ignition delays are show in Fig. 11. In the figure, a
fitted curve (the dotted line) is also shown. As can be
seen, the ignition delay timing is again a function of
mixture ratio. As the mixture ratio neared the stoichiomet- 1
1'
ric value, ignition delay decreased to a minimum.
GOWCO
1
n.
The results of the abbreviated tests using the GOW
CO propellant combination are shown in Table I. The
propellant mixture ratio used was 0.55, near the stoichio-
metric value of 0.57. Chamber pressure prior to ignition
was 117 M a (17 psia). As indicated by the table, no
ignition was attained as the laser energy was increased
and repetitive pulsing was used until water was injected
into the chamber.
l 10
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GOXIRP-1
0 2 4 6 0 10 12 14 18 18 20 reported here.
mbrtura rstlon. otf
Flgure 11.+OWCH4 ignltlon delay.
8
TABLE 1.-IGNITION OUTCOME OP GOWCO
I I 1 I
Reading Laser pulse PuIsc energy, Power density, Outcome Comments
number repetition rate dlpulse W/crn2 (Ignition?)
i
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\.
I
I A addition to the dependence on the mixture ratio, ignition
I
_-. rpproxlmrte delay also is a strong function of the fuel spray character-
1 A *: 0 IgnHbn Ilmits
istics. The irregularities in a fuel spray can produce
I
inconsistent ignition timing. For example, if a large fucl
:\
I
I
I droplet passes through the ignition region, it can delay the
ignition process by requiring extra time and energy for
A 0.
vaporization prior to ignition. In one reported expri-
A ment,lo fuel droplets could not even be ignited unless a
secund laser pulse was used 50 p after the first one.
1
t A
150 A
I
L
1 A
I
I
I
The electromagnetic emission of laser sparks was
I# 1 I I measured at a laser energy of 225 d and pulse duration
1 10 100 of 25 nsec full-width-half-maximum.Results are pre-
rnMur4 ratio. off sented in Fig. 14. The permissible emission level far
Flgure 1 2 . 4 O W R P - 1 ignltlon outcome.
9
90
70
50
30
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FRECtUENCY [MHzf
Rgure 14.-Electromagnetic waves emlssion from lsser Induced sparks.
space flight, specified by NASA MSFCSPEC-S21B, is in several runs where a single pulse had failed to ignite
also shown in the figure for reference. It is evident that the mixture, but the multiple pulses also failed to bring on -
'
10
NASA L e R C E M 1 TEST FACILITY 12 . O c t 1993 I O : 06: 33
NARROWBAND
00
MSPC 5218 - RE02 SLOW N666B
40
20
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The clectromagnetic emission of laser sparks was 3. B.S. Armstrong, “Ignition Systems for Liquid
found to be below the permissible level for space flight, Oxygen (LOX)/Hydrocarbon Booster Engines,”
a<specified by NASA MSFC-SPEC-521B. It is evident NASATM-102033,1989.
that LIS’Semit a negligible amount of electromagnetic
waves and are not likely to cause EM1 on board a space- 4.D.L. Linne, J. Roncace, and M.F. Groth,
craft. “Mars In Situ Propellants:Carbon Monoxide and
Oxygen Ignition Experiments,” NASA TM-103202,
LIS ignition is highly feasible for GOWGH2, GOW 1990.
C&, and moderately compatible with GOWCO and 5 . A.W. Miziolek and R.C. Sausa, “Photochemi-
GOX/RP-1. Laser sparks ignited the first two propellant cal Ignition Studies: I. Laser Ignition of Flowing
combinations with ease, but required an additive in case Premixed Gases,” U.S. Army Ballistic Research
of carbon monoxide and encountered the problem of Laboratory TR BRL-TR-2644, Feb. 1985.
beam energy loss in RP-1. Finally, it has been found that
laser induced sparks are not likely to cause EM1 an board 6. B.E. Forch and A.W. Miziolek, “Photocherni-
a spacecraft. cal Ignition Studies: II. Oxygen-Atom Two-Photon
Resonance Effects,” U.S. Army Ballistic Research
References Laboratory TR B&TR-2740, June 1986.
1. W.P. Luscher and J.A. Mellish, “Advanced 7. B.E. Forch and A.W. Miziolek, “Photocherni-
High Pressurc Enginc Study for Mixed-Mode Vehicle cal Ignition Studies: III. Ignition by Efficient and
Application,” NASA CR-135141, 1977. Resonant Multiphoton Photochemical Formation of
Microplasmas,” U.S. Army Ballistic Research
2. V.A. Caluori, R.T. Conrad, and J.C. Jenkins, Laboratory TR BRLTR-2809, June 1987.
“Technology Requirements for Future Earth-to-
Geosynchronous Orbit Transportation Systems,” 8. R.A. Hill, “Ignition-Delay Times in Laser
NASA CR-3265, 1980. Initiated Combustion,” Applied Optics, Vol. 20, pp.
2239-2242,198 1.
11
9. Y.P.Raizer, Laser-Induced Discharge Phe-
noniena, Plenum Publishing Corporation, New York,
1977.
W
10. E.K.Dabora, “Laser Ignition of Liquid Fuel
Drops,” presented at the 7th ICICOGER, Gijttingen,
Federal Republic of Germany, Aug. 20-24, 1979,
Copyright to AIAA, 1980.
.
11. H.F. Coward and G.W. Jones, “Limits of
Flammability of Gases and Vapors,” United States
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Bulletin
503,1952.
12