PMMA Flammability Limits in a Small-Scale Slab Burner

In previous literature, solid fuels have been studied for the purposes of implementation alongside oxidizers such as ammonium perchlorate in fully-solid-fuel engines or nitrous oxide in hybrid engines. However, the necessity of an engine to stock its own oxidizer decreases the potential of the vehicle in which the engine resides. Therefore, an air-breathing engine that uses solid fuels could eliminate the need for onboard oxidizer whilst having the added benefit of being more energy dense than gaseous- or liquid-fueled engines. Therefore, this paper analyzes the efficacy of combustion of solid fuel in the context of a scramjet. However, preliminary experiments have shown that the combustion of solid fuel yields a fuel brick that actively regresses away from a free stream flow field of oxidizer. Therefore, it becomes necessary to study and characterize the fuel brick back while it is in the optimal position for peak combustion performance. Preliminary data from similar experiments performed on a scramjet do show the potential for such a facility to be built in which active control might improve performance of a chosen fuel.