Experimental study of a Resonance Igniter for space propulsion applications

The research conducted towards designing a new and reliable ignition method for rocket engines has influenced over the years the design of rocket combustion chambers. This thesis paper has the purpose of simulating the phenomena related to resonance heating processes, by means of an experimental facility designed to conduct tests and looking for the best setup in order to reproduce the resonance ignition phenomenon. \\ A resonance igniter takes advantage of a gasdynamic phenomena called resonance heating which occurs inside it, heating up the propellant beyond its auto-ignition temperature. This ignition method has increased its importance in rocket engines field due to its reliability, its relative simplicity of construction. The main features of the facility are based both on previous studies conducted by TUM (Technische Universit\"at of M\"unchen) and experimental tests carried out during the present work. Tests have been conducted using different experimental configurations, first focusing on the validation of the resonance heating phenomenon and subsequently aiming to increase the performance of the igniter by some gradual upgrades on the whole facility. The thesis can be divided into three main parts. On the first part a theoretical approach to the phenomenon is introduced, describing the influence of its driven parameters besides analyzing the physical processes lying behind resonance heating processes. The core part offers a global view on both the experimental facility designed for the tests and the results coming from the latter, having conducted them with two different configurations of the apparatus and different parameter values. Final considerations on the experimental tests results, along with possible future prospect of resonance ignition method are left for the last part of the thesis.