RTR STUDIES OF CLOSED COMBUSTION OF LIQUID METAL FUELS

The use of liquid metal combustion as a Rankine cycle heat source in stored chemical energy propulsion systems for undersea vehicles has fostered interest in the fundamental processes occurring during such combustion. This paper reports on an investigation into the use of high energy, real-time radiography to provide X-ray images of the confined combustion of an oxidant injected and submerged in a fuel bath. Studies of the combustion processes and fluid dynamics of the jet driven circulating flow in the fuel bath are described. Selected radiographic images that show dense-product separation and reaction zone growth that occur during closed combustion processes are presented and discussed.