VOL. 5, NO. 1, JANUARY 1968 J.

SPACECRAFT 31

Fluid Dynamic Effects on Apollo Engine Pressure Spikes

R. S. VALENTINE,* F. S. Rossi;| AND R. V. KROMREY}
Aerojet-General Corporation, Sacramento, Calif.

Apollo Service Propulsion System Block II firings exhibited an average spontaneous pres-
sure spike (pop) rate a factor of 5 or more greater than Block I. The incidence of combustion
instability also increased. The present study was undertaken to determine if the source of
the pops was related to the hydraulic flow characteristics of the injector, or to the gasdynamic
environment within the chamber. A mechanism for the occurrence of pops was hypothe-
sized: zones of unreacted propellants may exist as a result of the injector pattern design;
if these zones are suddenly mixed, a pop may result. To verify this theory, experimental
studies were conducted to evaluate the hydraulic characteristics of the injector elements,
and the existence of unreacted zones of propellant. By these studies, the existence of the
potential for pops was verified. The injector was modified by counterboring certain orifices
to prevent hydraulic flip. These modifications resulted in reduction in the pop rate by two
orders of magnitude.
Downloaded by 121.200.6.58 on December 7, 2019 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/3.29181

Introduction "trigger." This disturbance can be the hydraulic instability

D EVELOPMENT of the Apollo Service Propulsion Sys-
tem (SPS) Engine was initiated in 1962. The initial
development program was based upon the use of the Aero-
ZINE-50/N204 propellant system at a nominal chamber
pressure of 100 psia and a nominal mixture ratio (0/F) of
2.0. During the Block I effort, it was noted that spontaneous
chamber pressure spikes or pops occurred randomly with an
average frequency of one to two pops per 100 sec of firing.
Pops are most often detected by accelerometer response be-
cause those that are damped quickly (<20 msec) may not
appear in chamber pressure records due to the instrumenta-
tion response time. Longer duration spikes that have been
seen on the Pc trace show that the Apollo SPS chamber
pressure increases up to 100 psi (i.e., it may double) during
a pop. These pops were not considered a major problem in
Block I because they did not appear to affect the hardware
nor did they appear to trigger combustion instability. There-
fore, no effort was undertaken to reduce the incidence of pops
or to identify their source.
The Block II Program was initiated in 1966 and required
a shift in the nominal 0/F from 2.0 to 1.6. The average pop
rate increased by a factor of 5 or more over Block I. For
some units it approached a frequency of one pop per sec.
Some pitting of the ablative material on the chamber wall
near the injector resulted, and the incidence of combustion
instabilities increased. The study described here was under-
taken to determine whether the source of the pops was related
to the hydraulic flow characteristics of the injector, or to the
gasdynamic environment within the chamber. Results were
to include recommendations for modifications to the POUL
41-26 mod II injector which might reduce the incidence of
pops to an acceptable level.
Discussion of the Trigger Theory
One theory that might explain these pops is the existence
of zones of unreacted propellants which are suddenly mixed
by a combustion disturbance, which thus becomes the
Presented as Paper 67-513 at the AIAA 3rd Propulsion Joint
Specialist Conference, Washington, B.C., July 17-21, 1967;
submitted August 7, 1967; revision received October 25, 1967.
of a single orifice, a misimpinging jet, the decomposition of
a small amount of monopropellant, or other changes in the
flow pattern or combustion process. Thus, a large energy
release could result from premature mixing of zones of un-
reacted propellants.
The Apollo injector pattern is formed by a series of con-
centric rings of doublet elements. When the hypergolic pro-
pellants impinge, they repel one another and form alternate
annuli that are rich in fuel or oxidizer (Fig. 1). The pro-
pellants react gradually as the fuel and oxidizer move away
from the injector face. Combustion is normally smooth and
proceeds toward completion as the gases approach the throat.
However, the unburned propellant pockets adjacent to the in-
j ector face represent zones of high energy release potential. A
small disturbance may mix one zone with another. The
reactants then burn and create a larger disturbance which
drives other unmixed zones together. A chain reaction re-
sults which releases the energy available in the fuel- and oxi-
dizer-rich annuli. Once the zones are mixed, the energy re-
lease potential is gone, and the chamber pressure drops back
to its previous value. The annular pattern is then regener-
ated and another disturbance may cause the pop phenomenon
to repeat. In the Apollo Service Propulsion System injector,
the potential for energy release exists as a result of the forma-
tion of propellant pockets, characterized by the injector
orifice pattern design.
Two distinct types of flow are observed with short tube
orifices. Plots of flowrate vs pressure drop show a discon-
tinuity; that is, the discharge coefficient which is normally
constant shows an abrupt change in value. The higher
values (>0.8) are associated with full flow within the orifice
whereas lower values (0.6-0.7) generally result from separated
or vena contracta flow. This phenomenon has been termed
hydraulic flip, and is described in Ref. 1. Normally, it occurs
with orifices having a length-to-diameter ratio (L/D) of
-2.5.
Rocket injector designers have been concerned for many
years with the effect of hydraulic flip on the stability of rocket
engines. Northrup2 concludes that "Where straight sharp
edge orifices are used for injection, there are certain pressure
MANIFOLD CHANNELS

This effort was sponsored by the Apollo Service Module Engine

Fig. 1 Schematic I FUEL
A OX. I I FUEL I I OX.
Program, Contract M6J7XAA-400000A from North American
Aviation. diagram of alternat-
* Manager, Fluid Dynamics. Member AIAA. ing fuel- and oxidiz- FUEL \ / OX.\ / F U E L \ / OX. \ / V INJECT
FAU
RICH RICH RICH RICH
t Engineering Specialist, Fluid Dynamics. er-rich zones. ZONE I \ ZONE/ I ZONE / 1 ZONE I^

t Senior Engineer, Fluid Dynamics.

 32 VALENTINE, ROSSI, AND KROMREY J. SPACECRAFT

Vc, 0 to 25 fps. Fluid temperature was 70 °F and orifice

CROSS FLOW -
VALVE
diameter 0.073 in. The objective was to determine if orifice
flip occurred with conditions typical of Apollo injector
orifices.
The test chamber was made of a transparent acrylic cylinder
with a 2.75-in. i.d. and a 4-in. o.d. Two taps were drilled
in the wall to permit the chamber pressure to be measured
and to provide the inlet for pressurizing the chamber with
nitrogen (Fig. 2). The flow angle was measured by use of a
protractor, aligning the protractor arm with the stream di-
rection. The flow angle was measured within an estimated
accuracy of 2° or 3°.
General observations were as follows: The geometry of
the orifice effluent stream changed radically with the L/D of
DRAIN the orifices. Jets out of orifices with L/D < 1.0 were thin,
flat streams (Fig. 3) which spread out as much as J in. after
discharging from the 0.073-in.-diam orifices. The wide
Fig. 2 Schematic diagram—orifice test chamber. dimension of the stream was in the direction of the cross flow
and its thickness was estimated to be about 0.010 in. Orifices
drop ranges which should be avoided. Although it is easy with an L/D >2.0 delivered streams that were round and
to define these ranges for an orifice discharging to atmosphere, bushy, attaining a diameter 2 or 3 times the orifice diameter
immediately after the orifice exit.
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it is difficult to do so when the orifice is discharging a fluid

into a combustion chamber during actual .motor operation." The pressure drop and the flow rate was measured and the
Little experimental work has been reported since. orifice discharge coefficient was calculated from the relation
Orifices in the Apollo injectors have L/D ratios that make CD = 144 W/Ao[2gp(AP)144]V* = 45.2
them susceptible to hydraulic flip.3 Also, the oxidizer tem-
perature is high enough so that its vapor pressure approaches where W is the measured flow rate (Ib/sec) ;
the orifice inlet pressure. This may result in cavitation in AQ = orifice throat area = 0.00419 in.2
the orifices, which can cause hydraulic flip. According to AP = measured pressure differential (Pj Pc), psi
the trigger theory, there must be a potential for energy p = water density, 62.4 lb/ft3
release and a triggering device for pops to occur. Either g = gravitational constant, 32.2 ft/sec2
of these phenomena could act as the trigger and initiate a
pop- Graphs of CD vs AP were used to determine the point at
which hydraulic flip occurred. Figure 4 shows that a distinct
drop in CD usually occurred between 10 and 30 psi differen-
Evidence Supporting the Trigger Theory tial at 14.7 psia chamber pressure. Earlier experimental
Pops were found to occur in random locations on the vari- work2 also showed the hysteresis effect seen in Fig. 4.
ous injectors fired, but repeatedly in the same locations on
individual injectors. If certain orifices in an injector are
particularly susceptible to hydraulic flip, then it is most
likely that pops will occur most frequently in that area.
This has been verified by locating the origin of the pops by
triangulation of accelerometer data.
The amplitude of some pops exceeded 100 psi, suggesting
that the effluent of many elements was involved. Hydraulic
flip alone cannot explain the large amplitudes unless many
orifices changed flow regime simultaneously, which is im-
probable. Dissociation of monopropellant fuel had previ-
ously been hypothesized to be the cause of popping, but this
alone cannot rationally explain the high pressure amplitudes
recorded. A combination of effects most likely exists.
If the trigger theory correctly describes the pop phenome-
non, then these disturbances can be eliminated by eliminating
the zones of potential energy release or removing the triggers.
The first solution is more desirable. Even if known triggers
were removed, the potential would still be there, susceptible
to an unknown trigger. Removal of the pockets of unreacted
propellants wrould be the best solution.

Experiments on Hydraulic Flow and Flip

An experimental study was initiated to investigate the
flow characteristics of orifices and to determine whether
hydraulic flip occurred with conditions typical of Apollo in-
jectors. The appearance of the stream was to be noted, the
region of hydraulic flip was to be determined by calculating
the change in CD, and the direction of flow was to be com-
pared with the angle at which the orifice was drilled in the
injector face plate. The ranges of variables tested were:
orifice L/D, 0.5 to 4.0; orifice angle 6, 0 to 40°; back pressure Fig. 3 Flat stream effluent from orifice with L/D = 0.5
Pc, 15 to 65 psia; orifice AP, 0 to 60 psi; cross-flow velocity and 52-psi pressure drop.
 JANUARY 1968 FLUID DYNAMICS OF APOLLO ENGINE PRESSURE SPIKES 33

0.9

A<
i
^ -—
( i
I|

<-> 0.7
0.7
Ct 5 &
c
* k-
e
0.6 F f pc = 14.7 psia, Vc = Oft/sec
PC - 14.7 psia. Vc = 13. 2 ft/sec 6
'0° 21°
0 a
40°
A
A
o PC ' Oft/sec
F c = 14.7 psia, Vc = 26. 6 0 A-
6 PC = 14. 7 psia, V c = 13. 2 ft/sec
•L/D = 2 . 0 § 0.5 c = 65 psia, Vc = 0 ft/sec • • A
• L/D = 4. 0 0- PC = 14. 7 psia, Vc = 26.6 ft/sec
F c = 65 psia, Vc = 13. 2 ft/sec ^ 1
• PC = 65 psia, Vc = Oft/sec
Pc = 65 psia. Vc = 26. 6 ft/sec •-
4 PC = 65 psia, Vc = 13. 2 ft/sec
3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0
ORIFICE LENGTH/DIAMETER, L/D
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
ORIFICE PRESSURE DIFFERENTIAL, PSI
Fig. 6 Observed CD above flip region.
Fig. 4 Effects of pressure drop on CD.

Hydraulic flip—a change in flow pattern from pipe flow Mapping of Propellant Zones
to vena contracta flow—could result from a separation at To verify the existence of reactive propellant zones, and to
the orifice inlet, because the inertia of the fluid prevents it determine their flow patterns, an Apollo injector face was
Downloaded by 121.200.6.58 on December 7, 2019 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/3.29181

from following the 90° angle of the wall. Northrup, 2 how- coated with ablative material. Ablative rods were also in-
ever, used a transparent orifice plate and observed that the stalled on the injector to detect fuel- and oxidizer-rich pro-
water cavitated at the orifice inlet. The vapor bubble that pellant pockets. The ablative materials were selected be-
formed caused the vena contracta. Each instance of hy- cause they are characteristically marked on exposure to com-
draulic flip in this study occurred with the chamber operating bustion gases (Fig. 8). The combustion chamber was also
at atmospheric pressure. No tests with high back pressure coated to evaluate propellant flow patterns away from the
showed a significant shift in CD. A possible explanation is injector face. This configuration was then test fired for 5
that the high back pressure suppresses cavitation, so the fluid sec.
doesn't separate from the wall. Thus, the discharge coeffi- The existence of oxidizer- and fuel-rich areas was verified
cient remains at a high level. These results are based, how- by differences in combustion reaction product compatibility
ever, on the limited parameter variations considered in this with the ablative materials. Char/erosion profiles were di-
study. rectly related to the local propellant mixture ratio and tem-
An equation to calculate the AP at which hydraulic flip perature. The capability of ablative materials to indicate
occurs was obtained by P. Diamond.4 The equation gives approximate mixture ratios is due to the high carbon content
this parameter as a function of chamber pressure, vapor of the resins used. When exposed to rapid heating in ablative
pressure, dynamic viscosity, flluid density, surface tension, applications, the resin is pyrolyzed, resulting in a carbona-
and L/D. Figure 5 shows Diamond's equation plotted for ceous char formation. Virgin ablative resin and carbon char
14.7 psia and 65 psia. The data points show the lower values are easily removed by oxidizer, resulting in streaks and sur-
of AP at which flip occurred for Pc = 14.7 psia; they fall face regression. However, fuel-rich gases provide a pro-
considerably above the predicted curve for Pc = 14.7 psia. tective reducing environment allowing the pyrolyzed resin
At 65 psia, no indication of hydraulic flip was observed, al- char to remain intact. Loss of char in a reducing atmosphere
though the AP range predicted by the equation was well is caused by cross winds on the injector face. This analysis
within the range tested. The test data showed that beyond technique is illustrated by the flow vectors shown in Fig. 9.
the hydraulic flip region (AP > 30 psi), CD remained rela- The method of determining these vectors is described in
tively constant. Results are plotted vs L/D in Fig. 6. Ref. 5.
The orifice angle, and L/D appeared to affect the flow di- Ablative detector rods (0.25-in. diam by 1.5 in. long) were
rection, as shown in Fig. 7. For L/D > 2.5, the flow followed installed on the injector face (Fig. 10) in selected positions
the angle of the orifice axis. Below 2.5, the flow direction to expose them to predicted propellant environment and gas
moved toward a line perpendicular to the orifice plate. velocity conditions as determined from Figs. 1 and 9. The
With the angle drilled perpendicular to the orifice plate (6 = predictions of the location of fuel-rich zones were substanti-
0), the flow direction was perpendicular to the plate, as would
be expected.

50 e = 40°
45
^SHO WEDN
x/
i - ' -4 $
HYD RAUL CFLI P / •^i
40 AT C 5 PS IA
/ V ,/
35 ^- \
__
*/
f
| 30 DIA W)ND VEQ UATIC)N
9*
/ e = 21°
g 25 <^C
7
]

——'
„—-- /
£- ^,- .--* • -~ ~ " PC = 14. 7 psia, Vc • 0 ft/sec
— -r
o S A
/; _—-—
?S\* = 14. 7 psia, Vc = 13. 2 ft/sec A -
I20 ( „---~ / / Pc = 14. 7 psia, V c = 26.6 ft/sec Q_ A-
/ jL- ---- ' e- .^
^•.^-—- i<
15
/ / PC = 65 psia, Vc = 0 ft/sec « • A
10
Pc = 14. 7 psia, Vc = Oft/sec 0 ''A
^^ Pc = 65 psia Vc = 26. 6 ft/sec •- A
/ ^
^^ a A
^ \ _ —£
5 Pc - 14. 7 psia, V c = 13.2ft&ec6 A t = 00
I/
-h
Pc = 14. 7 psia, Vc =26. 6 ft/sec o A
0
u
. 1 2 3 4 5
ORIFICE LENGTH/DIAMETER, L/D
6 7 8
2.0
- 3.0
ORIFICE LENGTH/DIAMETER, L/D
Fig. 5 Comparison of observed pressure drop required for
hydraulic flip with Diamond's equation. Fig. 7 Effect of orifice orientation on flow angle.
 34 VALENTINE, ROSSI, AND KROMREY
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FIgo 8 Postfire condition of coated injector.
ated by the postfire appearance of black and grey char, and
raw fuel had protected exposed virgin material (Figs. 11
and 12). An excess of oxidizer in the areas predicted had
attacked and removed the ablative material and prevented
the formation of carbonaceous char, as shown by rod 2 in
Fig. 11. The very light ashlike silica reinforcement residue
and exposed virgin material indicated zones of high mixture
ratio and raw oxidizer. Intermediate mixture ratios were
shown by grey char and a silica melt containing dispersed
carbon. The quantity and distribution of the carbon char
provided an estimate of the local mixture ratio which was con-
sistent with the annular propellant pockets predicted. This
INITIAL ZONE LOCATION
RELAXED ZONE LOCATION
LINE OF SECTOR SYMMETRY
Fig. 9 Gasdynamic force diagram for Apollo POUL 41-26
mod II injector.
J. SPACECRAFT
OXIDIZER INLET
DETECTOR ROD
OUTSIDE SURFACE IS THE S I D E AWAY
FROM BAFFLE HUB.
INSIDE SURFACE IS THE SIDE FACING
BAFFLE HUB.
Fig. 10 Location of detector rods on injector face.
may be seen in the alternating rings of white and black char
in Fig. 8.
Applications of Results to Injector
Modifications
Based upon the results of the hydraulic study and the
coated chamber study which verified the predicted behavior,
of the injector, modifications were made to the POUL 41-26
mod II injector pattern. The modifications for the mod III
injector pattern included counterboring all oxidizer orifices
to obtain a lower L/D and get them out of the hydraulic flip
regime. For the mod IV injector, all oxidizer and certain
fuel orifices were counterbored. In the mod IV, the orifice
diameters were changed also to adjust the momentum ratio
Fig. 11 Postfire condition of detection rods 2A & 4A.
 JANUARY 1968 FLUID DYNAMICS OF APOLLO ENGINE PRESSURE SPIKES 35

Table 1 Injector pop summary

Injector S/N Run duration, sec Pops

105 mod III 756 4
105 mod IV 750 2
105 mod II 752 184
096 mod III 759 0
096 mod II 940/749 731/503
097 mod IV 1352 0
097 mod II 768/758/754 20/187/120
094 mod III 757 1
094 mod II 562 43

back to the Block I values, thus compensating for the change

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in 0/F in Block II.

Counterboring was expected to eliminate or reduce the
number of triggers, as short tube orifices flow without re-
attachment to the wall, and do not exhibit the hydraulic
flip phenomenon. The L/D ratio of all orifices was adjusted
to approximately 1.0 after counterboring. A smaller value
(L/D — 0.5) was desired, but other design factors precluded
such a low value.
All oxidizer orifices were counterbored, as they had L/D
ratios which were in the critical range (0.8 to 5.0 per Ref. 3).
On the other hand, some fuel orifices were not counterbored
because they were so long that there was a risk that the flow
could reattach to the wall of the counterbore.
The effect of these modifications on the incidence of popping
is shown in Table 1. Both mod III and mod IV exhibited
reduced popping by orders of magnitude. In addition, mod
IV (adjustment of momentum ratio) was found to be ex-
tremely compatible, allowing run durations of double the
mission requirements.
Conclusions
Hydraulic flip with water flow occurred in orifices with
L/D ratios of 2.0 and 4.0, with the chamber at atmospheric
pressure. Flip was not observed when the chamber pressure
was 50 psig with the same range of pressure differential.
From Ref. 4, it was concluded from a vapor pressure correla-
tion that hydraulic flip would be probable in the oxidizer
(N204) orifices of the Apollo injector at the 100-psia chamber
back pressure, where the pressure at the orifice inlet was ap-
proximately equal to the vapor pressure of the N204 when
the fluid temperature was 100-120°F. The temperature of
the bulk fluid at the orifice entrance can be this magnitude
with the chamber heat fluxes that exist.
The observed jet geometry was influenced by L/D, AP,
cross velocity, and orifice angle. As a result, element im-
pingement may be altered by the intersection of bushy streams
and elliptical fans rather than round streams. Injector
element impingement distances also probably differ from
design values as the jets do not always flow in the direction
of the orifice axis.
The presence of oxidizer- and fuel-rich pockets was verified
by the injector coating and detector rods. The existence of
Fig. 12 Postfire condition of detector rods 1A, 3A, & 5A.
cross winds at the injector face was also demonstrated. The
cross winds appear to alter impingement of many of the
elements, possibly as many as 30% in the Apollo SPS engine.
These results support the trigger theory as the mechanism
of injector popping. Experimental results confirm that the
modifications caused a reduction in the number of potential
"triggers" as the results show a significant decrease in pops.
References
1
Marks, L. S., Mechanical Engineers Handbook, fourth ed.,
McGraw-Hill, New York, 1941, p. 253.
2
Northrup, R. P., "Flow Stability in Small Orifices," Nov.
30, 1951, General Electric Co., Malta Test Station, Ballston
Spa., N.Y.
3
Saltzman, D. H., "Analysis of Apollo Injector Popping,"
Kept. 3865-548, Aug. 1966, Aerojet-General Corp., Sacramento,
Calif.
4
Putnam, A. A. et al., "Injection and Combustion of Liquid
Fuels," Tech. Kept. 56-344, Wright Air Development Center;
ASTIA Doc. AD 118142, March 1957, Battelle Memorial Insti-
tute.
5
Conn, T. E., Hester, J. N., and Valentine, R. S., "Environ-
mental Effects on Rocket Injector/Chamber Compatibility,"
Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 4, No. 12, Dec. 1967, pp.
1581-1585.