Getting

started with CEA – online version

Not so long ago, adiabatic flame temperature and chemical equilibrium were calculated
using tedious trial and error hand calculations that took a very long time. Now these
calculations can be done quickly and accurately using readily available software. One such
code is Chemical Equilibrium with Applications, available at https://cearun.grc.nasa.gov/.
Although it is oriented toward rocket performance, it is very useful to calculate properties
of many reactions between hydrocarbons and air like in gas turbine combustors.
Enter the site, type in a four-number run ID, and click the radio button appropriate for your
problem. You are encouraged to explore, but the rocket problem is recommended to start.
This option will provide outputs on all the basic thermodynamic data (eg, h, s, T, p), product
compositions, and rocket performance (c*, cf, Isp). Inputs are reactant type, operating
condition, and area ratios (A/A*) and/or pressure ratios (po/pe). Later you will be able to
choose whether you want the printout to include transport property values of heat capacity,
thermal conductivity, and viscosity, all needed for heat transfer analysis.
Default output includes properties and performance parameters at stagnation conditions
(M=0) and the throat (M=1). Note, there is no input for ambient pressure, so all calculations
assume either vacuum conditions (pamb = 0, Ivac) or optimal expansion (pamb = pe, Isp), For
other ambient pressures, you will need to correct the output value of cf and Isp by hand.
After you hit submit, the ‘Rocket Problem’ page will come up. First, you will input the value
of the operating pressure(s) and its units. You can input a range of pressures, or a single
value. The program apparently has an error that caused it to misread pressure input given
in SI units (kPa or MPa), so use atm or English units. This input chamber pressure will be
used as the stagnation pressure in the calculation, and it will keep the stagnation pressure
constant. CEA does not account for any losses due to friction or heat addition.
After you submit values of pressure, the program asks about the propellants, fuel and then
oxidizer. You can choose from a few typical propellants on the first pages. If the propellant
of your choice is not available then you can choose the periodic table button where you click
on the elements that make up the propellant. The default value of temperature for gaseous
propellants and for propellants that are liquid at room temperature is 298K. The default
value for cryogenic propellants (LH2, LCH4, LO2) is their saturation temperature at 1 atm.
After you have defined the fuel and oxidizer and their conditions, the next page asks for
their relative proportions. Typically you would input either o/f (the mixture ratio in rocket
terminology), or the equivalence ratio f. The mixture ratio is the reciprocal of the fuel-air
ratio (f/a or FAR) used for gas turbine engines. Similar to pressure, you can input a single
value or a range. Regardless of your input, the output will include both f and o/f.
The next page asks for exit conditions. These can be area ratios (subsonic and supersonic)
and/or pressure ratios. Here, you could do a parametric analysis on the effect of expansion
ratio on performance, or to calculate the expansion ratio required to achieve a certain
pressure ratio. We will do that in the rocket propulsion part of the course. You can skip this
page and the output will still include stagnation properties.
The last page asks for file type (long or short output), and provides options for units and
whether transport properties are included. It also asks for the type of equilibrium
calculation you want to do, and whether you want calculations done at subsonic conditions
beyond the default M = 0 (stagnation conditions). The short output option is sufficient, and
you probably want to choose SI units and mole fractions. Choosing equilibrium will allow
the flow composition to change according to local pressure and temperature in the nozzle,
and the frozen option “freezes” the flow at a certain location in the chamber – often this
location is chosen to be the throat. For your homework problem, choose infinite area
combustor. If you are doing combustor design, and need for instance transport properties at
various subsonic Mach numbers in a combustor with a converging throat, you could select
finite area to get calculated properties as a function of local area ratio and Mach number.
The choice of equilibrium or frozen is a bit more complicated. CEA will calculate the gas
composition that results in the minimum Gibbs free energy for the mixture. The initial
calculation is done at stagnation conditions, and that will be the starting point. We know
that the chemical composition of a reacting flow is dependent on local properties, most
importantly it is dependent on the local temperature. Because the gas is accelerating in a
rocket combustor, first through subsonic portion of the throat and then in the supersonic
nozzle, the gas composition changes because the static temperature is changing.
However, getting to the equilibrium composition is not instantaneous, and the flow through
a supersonic nozzle is moving pretty fast. So the actual composition may be somewhere
between equilibrium and frozen. If the chemical kinetics are fast, it will be close to
equilibrium, if they are slow, it will be closer to frozen, ie, the composition does not change
through the nozzle. Equilibrium compositions are likely in the chamber upstream of the
throat because the temperature is high and its relative change is small. Downstream of the
throat in the supersonic nozzle the temperature of the flow changes rapidly, and so would
the equilibrium composition. Equilibrium calculations result in values of specific impulse
and usually results from equilibrium calculations are reported.
At the top of the output file, you will see your input. The results are printed out in blocks for
each O/F (f). It outputs chamber pressure in psia. It repeats the propellants, and tells you
their specific enthalpies and temperature that was assumed. It also tells you f and O/F, so if
you don’t want to go to the trouble of writing out balanced equations and calculating what
O/F is at a given f this is a pretty simple way to do it. It will always put out values of
calculated properties and equilibrium composition at stagnation conditions and at M = 1.
For data at other conditions you will need to specify area ratio and/or pressure ratio at the
conditions of interest.