MaST: Macro/micro simulation of phase separation in the transcritical area
Prof. Tobias Sander and Prof. Lars Zigan are in charge of the project, which is conducted jointly with Prof. Philipp Neumann from Helmut Schmidt University | Bundeswehr University Hamburg and other partners.
The project aims at deepening the understanding of the development of phase boundaries in high-pressure mixtures and developing cross-scale models of such phenomena. These models can be used for the optimization of technical applications, such as those occurring in the case of the transcritical injection of fuel and oxidizer in rocket combustion chambers. Injection and mixture formation are analyzed in a high-pressure high-temperature chamber set up as part of the project, using optical measuring techniques. Laser-based measuring techniques (especially high-speed) are used to analyze density and temperature fields for variable conditions. Experimental work will also be conducted at lower temperatures, since a nitrogen liquefaction system for cooling is available at the Professorship of Energy Transformation in Aerospace Engineering. Measured data is used for the validation of simulation calculations made by project partners. By further developing measurement techniques and molecular dynamics simulation (MD), density functional theory (DFT) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) as well as coupled (e.g. molecular continuum) simulation, MaST will for the first time be able to gain deeper insights into transcritical phase separation including the dissolution of phase boundaries.
Project period: 1 June 2021 through 31 December 2024
Funding by: dtec.bw – Digitalization and Technology Research Center of the Bundeswehr