Effect of ablation at the inlet of submerged nozzle on discharge characteristics

Abstract

The effect of ablation on the discharge characteristics of solid rocket engines with submerged nozzles is examined. State-of-the-art computational fluid dynamics software package ANSYS Fluent is employed for simulation. The ablation is considered from the standpoint of the effect caused by uniform blowing of degradation products on the boundary layer developing over the entrance length of the submerged nozzle. Different masses of injected substance are considered. The impact of injection on velocity profiles is estimated. The discharge coefficient is affected by the non-isothermal boundary layer when degraded thermal protection material is injected and chemical reactions are neglected. The effect of injection on the profiles of velocity and temperature, and hence, on discharge characteristics is revealed.