Dynamic behavior of metal droplets impacting on porous surfaces

During the operation of solid rocket motors, the behavior of condensed particles impacting the wall will have a remarkable influence on the structure and performance of the engine. Especially when the aircraft is under overload flight conditions, the condensed particles will form a local high concentration particle flow under the action of inertia force, continuously scouring the surface of the insulation layer, seriously affecting the thermal protection structure and the work safety of the engine. Therefore, it is an essential issue to master the behavior mode of the condensate particle impinging the wall and clarify its dynamic characteristics and evolutionary mechanism. In this paper, the dynamic behavior of aluminum droplets impacting on the porous surface is experimentally investigated by preparing the porous wall, the influence mechanism of the porous structure on the spreading process of aluminum droplets is clarified, and the effects of the droplet's initial parameters as well as surface environment are analyzed. Combined with the fluid of volume method, the flow process of droplets on the porous surface is simulated. With the variation of the dimensionless parameters M and N, the main behavior patterns of the droplets obtained so far are rebound, adhesion, partial rebound, partial adhesion, and porous seepage. The presence of pore structure enhances the hydrophobicity of the wall and makes the droplets more easily broken during spreading. When the droplet initial energy is certain and the wall structure conditions change, there is a strong competitive relationship between its spreading and penetration. When the droplet initial energy is increased, its spreading and penetration strengths are significantly increased. The research results can provide a reference for the erosion process of condensed-phase droplets impinging on the char layer and provide theoretical basis and data support for the design and optimization of SRMs.