Thermal performance evaluation of a distributed regenerative cooling system using supercritical catalytic steam reforming of aviation kerosene for scramjet engine

Regenerative cooling technology plays an important role for development of scramjet engine. In order to further improve thermal performance of regenerative cooling system with hydrocarbon fuel, a distributed regenerative cooling system using catalytic steam reforming of supercritical aviation kerosene and distributed supply of water is evaluated in the present study. Thermal performances of distributed catalytic steam reforming system (DCSR) and conventional catalytic steam reforming system (CSR) are compared. The effects of pressure and secondary injection ratio of water on DCSR are numerically analyzed. The results show that DCSR renders higher heat transfer coefficient and larger heat absorption capacity than CSR. Coke content of DCSR decreases by up to 20% while heat transfer coefficient increases by 12.02% compared with CSR. With secondary injection ratio increasing from 30.98% to 71.60%, coke content decreases by up to 37.53% while heat transfer coefficient increases by up to 44.45%. As coke deposition is significantly removed by in situ steam gasification reaction, no heat transfer deterioration is found near the outlet of the cooling mini-channel. Moreover, the cumulative heat absorption capacity of DCSR increases by 24.3% than CSR. This study provides preliminary insight into thermal performance of DCSR for scramjet engines.