Performance Analysis of the Pintle Thruster Using 1-D Simulation -I : Steady State Characteristics

Abstract

Pintle thrusters use pintle stroke to change nozzle throat area, and this controls thrust. Using MATLAB, one-dimensional simulation has been investigated and the results are compared to those of cold flow tests and computational fluid dynamics for the pintle thruster of Chungnam National University. The prediction based on one-dimensional flow theory shows good agreement with measurements for chamber pressure, but deviates for thrust, partly because of nozzle wall separation. Computational results show that nozzle wall separation occurs at an early stage of nozzle expansion, near the design nozzle throat, for the course of pintle strokes. Empirical thrust prediction incorporates nozzle wall separation, and thus 1-D simulation using empirical thrust prediction showed good results for an early stage of pintle stroke.