• Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.1-8
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• 2008

A flame stability diagram in a partially premixed flame is typically expressed using the axis coordinates of heat input rate and equivalence ratio. These diagrams are inadequate for identifying changes in combustion conditions and flame stability when a reference fuel is substituted with other fuels under identical operating conditions. This study proposes a new type of diagram and validates it experimentally. In this new diagram, the axis coordinates are air flow rate and Wobbe fuel flow rate, defined as the fuel flow rate multiplied by the square root of the relative density. The diagram was validated in trials using various fuels, including $CH_4$, $C_{3}H_{8}$, and LFG-$C_{3}H_{8}$ mixed fuels, in a domestic gas-range and an gas interchangeability test burner. The results of these trials show that the new diagram can provide information useful for assessing gas interchangeability of combustion conditions and flame stability when one fuel is substituted with another under identical operating conditions.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.541-546
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• 2008

A coolant operating condition in al fuel cell stack was an important factor to determine the temperature distribution which affected the fuel cell performance and relative humidity. In this study, the fuel cell performance was evaluated as a function of the coolant flow rate with the range of $0.1{\sim}0.8$ liter/min cell and the coolant inlet temperature of $20{\sim}82^{\circ}C$. The cell temperature increased with increasing the coolant inlet temperature and with decreasing the coolant flow rate. The coolant inlet temperature and flow rate to maintain the better performance of the fuel cell were in the range of $45{\sim}60^{\circ}C$ and $0.2{\sim}0.4$ liter/min cell, respectively. The experimental results showed that the optimal heat removal rate from the stack by coolant was $0.4{\sim}0.6W/cm^2$ cell.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2011.04a
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• pp.1-2
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• 2011

Hybrid rockets have lately attracted attention as a strong candidate of small, low cost, safe and reliable launch vehicles. A significant topic is that the first commercially sponsored space ship, SpaceShipOne vehicle chose a hybrid rocket. The main factors for the choice were safety of operation, system cost, quick turnaround, and thrust termination. In Japan, five universities including Hokkaido University and three private companies organized "Hybrid Rocket Research Group" from 1998 to 2002. Their main purpose was to downsize the cost and scale of rocket experiments. In 2002, UNISEC (University Space Engineering Consortium) and HASTIC (Hokkaido Aerospace Science and Technology Incubation Center) took over the educational and R&D rocket activities respectively and the research group dissolved. In 2008, JAXA/ISAS and eleven universities formed "Hybrid Rocket Research Working Group" as a subcommittee of the Steering Committee for Space Engineering in ISAS. Their goal is to demonstrate technical feasibility of lowcost and high frequency launches of nano/micro satellites into sun-synchronous orbits. Hybrid rockets use a combination of solid and liquid propellants. Usually the fuel is in a solid phase. A serious problem of hybrid rockets is the low regression rate of the solid fuel. In single port hybrids the low regression rate below 1 mm/s causes large L/D exceeding a hundred and small fuel loading ratio falling below 0.3. Multi-port hybrids are a typical solution to solve this problem. However, this solution is not the mainstream in Japan. Another approach is to use high regression rate fuels. For example, a fuel regression rate of 4 mm/s decreases L/D to around 10 and increases the loading ratio to around 0.75. Liquefying fuels such as paraffins are strong candidates for high regression fuels and subject of active research in Japan too. Nakagawa et al. in Tokai University employed EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) to modify viscosity of paraffin based fuels and investigated the effect of viscosity on regression rates. Wada et al. in Akita University employed LTP (Low melting ThermoPlastic) as another candidate of liquefying fuels and demonstrated high regression rates comparable to paraffin fuels. Hori et al. in JAXA/ISAS employed glycidylazide-poly(ethylene glycol) (GAP-PEG) copolymers as high regression rate fuels and modified the combustion characteristics by changing the PEG mixing ratio. Regression rate improvement by changing internal ballistics is another stream of research. The author proposed a new fuel configuration named "CAMUI" in 1998. CAMUI comes from an abbreviation of "cascaded multistage impinging-jet" meaning the distinctive flow field. A CAMUI type fuel grain consists of several cylindrical fuel blocks with two ports in axial direction. The port alignment shifts 90 degrees with each other to make jets out of ports impinge on the upstream end face of the downstream fuel block, resulting in intense heat transfer to the fuel. Yuasa et al. in Tokyo Metropolitan University employed swirling injection method and improved regression rates more than three times higher. However, regression rate distribution along the axis is not uniform due to the decay of the swirl strength. Aso et al. in Kyushu University employed multi-swirl injection to solve this problem. Combinations of swirling injection and paraffin based fuel have been tried and some results show very high regression rates exceeding ten times of conventional one. High fuel regression rates by new fuel, new internal ballistics, or combination of them require faster fuel-oxidizer mixing to maintain combustion efficiency. Nakagawa et al. succeeded to improve combustion efficiency of a paraffin-based fuel from 77% to 96% by a baffle plate. Another effective approach some researchers are trying is to use an aft-chamber to increase residence time. Better understanding of the new flow fields is necessary to reveal basic mechanisms of regression enhancement. Yuasa et al. visualized the combustion field in a swirling injection type motor. Nakagawa et al. observed boundary layer combustion of wax-based fuels. To understand detailed flow structures in swirling flow type hybrids, Sawada et al. (Tohoku Univ.), Teramoto et al. (Univ. of Tokyo), Shimada et al. (ISAS), and Tsuboi et al. (Kyushu Inst. Tech.) are trying to simulate the flow field numerically. Main challenges are turbulent reaction, stiffness due to low Mach number flow, fuel regression model, and other non-steady phenomena. Oshima et al. in Hokkaido University simulated CAMUI type flow fields and discussed correspondence relation between regression distribution of a burning surface and the vortex structure over the surface.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.181-187
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• 2022

For carbon neutrality, direct-injection hydrogen engines are attracting attention as a future power source. It is essential to estimate the transient injection rate of hydrogen for the optimization of hydrogen injection in direct injection engines. However, conventional injection rate measurement techniques for liquid fuels based on the injection-induced fuel pressure change in a test section are difficult to be applied to gaseous fuels due to the compressibility of the gas and the sealing issue of the components. In this study, a momentum flux measurement technique is introduced to obtain the transient injection rate of gaseous fuels using a force sensor. The injection rate calculation models associated with the momentum flux measurement technique are presented first. Then, the volumetric injection rates are estimated based on the momentum flux data and the calculation models and compared with those measured by a volumetric flow rate meter. The results showed that the momentum flux measurement can detect the injection start and end timings and the transient and steady regimes of the fuel injection. However, the estimated volumetric injection rates showed a large difference from the measured injection rates. An alternative method is suggested that corrects the estimated injection rate results based on the measured mean volumetric flow rates.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.59-68
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• 2023

In this study, the performance of high-pressure fuel pumps was compared to find a high-pressure pump suitable for dimethyl ether (DME) fuel, and to establish a database of basic data on flow rates. The use of DME in compression ignition engines can reduce pollutant emissions. The cetane value of DME is higher than that of diesel fuel. The physical properties of DME are similar to liquefied gasoline gas (LPG), and when pressurized at a pressure of 6 bar or more, it changes from gas to liquid. Two types of high pressure pumps used in this study were independent injection type pump and a wobble plate type pump. Two high-pressure pumps with different injection types were compared. By measuring and comparing the performance changes of the two high-pressure pumps, a pump suitable for DME was selected and performance improvement measures were proposed. The changed experimental conditions to measure the performance change of the high pressure pump were increased in the units of 100 to 1,000 rpm and 100 rpm, and the experiment was performed at common rail pressures 300 and 400 bar. it was confirmed that the DME inside the fuel supply system remained in a liquid state through temperature sensors, pressure sensors, and pressure gauges. As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that the flow rate discharged from the high-pressure fuel pump increased as the motor rotational speed increased, and the flow rate of the high-pressure fuel pump

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.323-326
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• 2005

In this study, experimental studies were performed the combustion characteristics of end- burning hybrid propulsion system. PMMA, PE were used as fuel and gas oxygen as oxidizer. The regression rate depend on oxidizer flow rate also on thermodynamic properties of fuel. as result, empirical formula for regression rate was deduces with oxidizer flow rate and mass transfer coefficient B number.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.6-15
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• 2016

The oxygen fuel MILD (Moderate or Intense Low-oxygen Dilution) combustion has been considered as one of the promising combustion technology for flame stability, high thermal efficiency, low emissions and improved productivity. In this paper, the effect of oxygen and fuel injection condition on formation of MILD combustion was analyzed using lab scale oxygen fuel MILD combustion furnace. The results show that the flame mode was changed from a diffusion flame mode to a split flame mode via a MILD combustion flame mode with increasing the oxygen flow rate. A high degree of temperature uniformity was achieved using optimized combination of fuel and oxygen injection configuration without the need for external oxygen preheating. In particular, the MILD combustion flame was found to be very stable and constant flame temperature region at 7 KW heating rate and oxygen flow rate 75-80 l/min.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.466-475
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• 2009

A numerical analysis of reactive flow in a liftoff flame is accomplished to elucidate the characteristics of flame propagation velocity and volume integral of reaction rate with the variation of fuel injection velocity at the fuel rich region, fuel lean region and diffusion flame region. The increase of fuel injection velocity enhances flame propagation velocity, but its effect on the flame propagation velocity is not much greater under 4%. The increase of fuel injection velocity affects directly and linearly on the flame surface area in the fuel rich region and so enhances volume integral of reaction rate to accommodate the increment of fuel.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.502-516
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• 2002

Wolsong NPP are CANDU6 type reactors and there are 4 CANDU6 type reactors in commercial operation. CANDU type reactors require on-power refuelling by two remote controlled F/Ms (Fuelling Machines). Most of channels, fuel bundles are float by channel coolant flow and move toward downstream, however in about 30% of channels the coolant flow are not sufficient enough to carry fuel bundles to downstream. For those channels a special device, FARE (Flow Assist Ram Extension) device, is used to create additional force to push fuel bundles. It has been showing that during fuelling operation of some channels the channel coolant flow rate is reduced below specified limit (80% of normal), and consequently trip alarm signal turns on. This phenomenon occurs on selected channels that are instrumented for the channel flow and required to use the FARE device for refuelling. Hence it is believed that the FARE device causes the problem. It is also suspected that other channels that do not use the FARE device for refuelling might also go into channel flow low state. The analysis revealed that the channel How low occurs as the FARE device is introduced into the core and disappears as the FARE device is removed from the core. This paper presented the FARE device behavior, detailed fuelling operation sequence with the FARE device and effect on channel flow low phenomena. The FARE device components design changes are also suggested, such as increasing the number or now holes in the tube and flow slots in the ring orifice.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.26-34
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• 2008

This study presents an aerodynamic design and an experimental performance test of a turbo air compressor consisted of mixed-flow impeller and curved diffuser for the PEM fuel cell vehicle application. Many studies compare the efficiency, cost or noise level of high-pressure and low-pressure operation of PEM fuel cell systems. Pressure ratio 2.2:1 is considered as design target The goal of compressor design is to enlarge the flow margin of compressor from surge to choke mass flow rate to cover the operational envelope of FCV. Large-scale rig test is performed to evaluate the compressor performance and to compare the effects of compressor exit pipe volume to stall or surge characteristics. The results show that the mixed-flow compressor designed has large flow margin, and the flow margin of compressor configuration with small exit volume is larger than that with large exit volume.