A NUMERICAL HEAT TRANSFER MODEL FOR AN ADVANCED SOLAR THERMAL PROPULSION SYSTEM (RADIATION INTENSITY, CONDUCTED ENERGY, CONVECTED, PARTICLE BED)
Abstract
A numerical heat transfer model was developed for investigating the design of an advanced solar thermal thruster. The numerical model considered the interaction of conduction, convection and radiation transport mechanisms within a complex solar radiation absorption chamber. The numerical analysis was divided into three distinct models which considered the energy transmission in one-dimensional, two-dimensional and a quasi-three-dimensional fashion. The radiation characteristics in each model included absorption, emission and scattering effects. The flow and temperature distributions were predicted by each model and the results summarized for the parameters specified. Comparisons were provided for the three different models and good agreement was obtained between the 1-D, 2-D and quasi-3-D solutions and published results. The quasi-three-dimensional analysis provided the most realistic modeling of the physical processes in the absorption chamber. The loss mechanisms were best estimated by the quasi-3-D solution. The quasi-3-D modeling of the absorption chamber provided the best representation of the energy transmission in comparison to the 1-D and 2-D solutions.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Aerospace materials
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