4 ms·
The combination of Methane and the full flow staged combustion cycle also means significantly reduced coking in the engine, so it drastically prolongs the time
by oses 5y ago
The combination of Methane and the full flow staged combustion cycle also means significantly reduced coking in the engine, so it drastically prolongs the time between engine refurbishments.
- ordu 5y agoDo you know how a reduced coking works? I've read about the raptor engine[1] and it explains how fuel rich hot mixture leads to coking, it explains how USA solved this problem before (by using hydrogen as a fuel), but how Musk managed to solve it? Partially burned methane should produce free carbon atoms, shouldn't it? Doesn't it raise a coking problem? [1] https://everydayastronaut.com/raptor-engine/ https://everydayastronaut.com/raptor-engine/
- jjk166 5y agoIn a conventional hydrocarbon fueled engine, you're using a fuel with hydrocarbon chains at approximately room temperature to cool the engine. With only a little heat addition, you get up to a temperature where these chains can shed hydrogens and convert their C-C-H bonds to C=C double bonds. These bonds in turn allow hydrocarbon chains to join together into larger molecules that can coagulate and stick to the walls. Methane on the other hand is starting out at a much lower temperature, and it's very difficult to get methane molecules to react with each other to form large molecules as you're not starting with any single C-C bonds. Isolated free carbon atoms (soot) aren't much of a problem.
- mr_toad 5y ago> Partially burned methane The raptors don’t run fuel rich, which should reduce that problem.