{"title":"Investigation of supercritical cracking characteristics of alkane and cycloalkane for heat sink application in a supersonic engine","authors":"Madhavaiah Nalabala , Shree Veena Mamilla , Iyman Abrar , Appala Naidu Uttaravalli , Srikanta Dinda","doi":"10.1016/j.tsep.2025.103306","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Thermal control around the combustion chamber is a critical issue for a supersonic engine to work efficiently. Active cooling using onboard hydrocarbon fuel can be a potential solution to manage thermal loads. In the present investigation, the pyrolysis characteristics of cyclohexane and n-decane were examined under supercritical environments. Experiments were conducted for a temperature range between 500 °C and 600 °C and at 5.5 MPa pressure, to investigate the extent of cracking, coke deposition, and heat sink behavior of the fuels. The boiling properties, cracking conversion, product composition, carbon-to-hydrogen ratio, gas production, and aniline point of the feed and products were examined using a variety of analytical techniques. Two innovative methods were adopted to estimate fuel conversion and heat sink parameters. The suitability of the newly adopted conversion calculation method was validated from GCMS results. n-Decane showed about 33.4 % cracking conversion, which is 3.6 times higher conversion than cyclohexane at 600 °C and 5.5 MPa. Under the same condition, n-decane exhibited 3.3 times more coke deposition than cyclohexane. The total heat sinks of cyclohexane and n-decane are about 2110 and 2423 kJ/kg, respectively, at 600 °C. The outcome of this investigation can be useful in selecting a suitable hydrocarbon composition to manage the thermal load of an onboard supersonic engine.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23062,"journal":{"name":"Thermal Science and Engineering Progress","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 103306"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Thermal Science and Engineering Progress","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451904925000964","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENERGY & FUELS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Thermal control around the combustion chamber is a critical issue for a supersonic engine to work efficiently. Active cooling using onboard hydrocarbon fuel can be a potential solution to manage thermal loads. In the present investigation, the pyrolysis characteristics of cyclohexane and n-decane were examined under supercritical environments. Experiments were conducted for a temperature range between 500 °C and 600 °C and at 5.5 MPa pressure, to investigate the extent of cracking, coke deposition, and heat sink behavior of the fuels. The boiling properties, cracking conversion, product composition, carbon-to-hydrogen ratio, gas production, and aniline point of the feed and products were examined using a variety of analytical techniques. Two innovative methods were adopted to estimate fuel conversion and heat sink parameters. The suitability of the newly adopted conversion calculation method was validated from GCMS results. n-Decane showed about 33.4 % cracking conversion, which is 3.6 times higher conversion than cyclohexane at 600 °C and 5.5 MPa. Under the same condition, n-decane exhibited 3.3 times more coke deposition than cyclohexane. The total heat sinks of cyclohexane and n-decane are about 2110 and 2423 kJ/kg, respectively, at 600 °C. The outcome of this investigation can be useful in selecting a suitable hydrocarbon composition to manage the thermal load of an onboard supersonic engine.
期刊介绍:
Thermal Science and Engineering Progress (TSEP) publishes original, high-quality research articles that span activities ranging from fundamental scientific research and discussion of the more controversial thermodynamic theories, to developments in thermal engineering that are in many instances examples of the way scientists and engineers are addressing the challenges facing a growing population – smart cities and global warming – maximising thermodynamic efficiencies and minimising all heat losses. It is intended that these will be of current relevance and interest to industry, academia and other practitioners. It is evident that many specialised journals in thermal and, to some extent, in fluid disciplines tend to focus on topics that can be classified as fundamental in nature, or are ‘applied’ and near-market. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress will bridge the gap between these two areas, allowing authors to make an easy choice, should they or a journal editor feel that their papers are ‘out of scope’ when considering other journals. The range of topics covered by Thermal Science and Engineering Progress addresses the rapid rate of development being made in thermal transfer processes as they affect traditional fields, and important growth in the topical research areas of aerospace, thermal biological and medical systems, electronics and nano-technologies, renewable energy systems, food production (including agriculture), and the need to minimise man-made thermal impacts on climate change. Review articles on appropriate topics for TSEP are encouraged, although until TSEP is fully established, these will be limited in number. Before submitting such articles, please contact one of the Editors, or a member of the Editorial Advisory Board with an outline of your proposal and your expertise in the area of your review.