Characterization of Rocket-Plume Fluid-Dynamic Environment Using Numerical and Experimental Approaches

Abstract

The fluid-dynamic environment in the plume of a specific rocket motor was characterized in the present study. Previously, a similar experimental study was conducted to collect pressure and temperature magnitudes at locations far downstream of the nozzle. The focus of this work was the characterization of the nozzle near field. To provide some flexibility for future analysis the primary goal was the development of a computational-fluid-dynamics model of the plume that could be probed for additional data of interest. To validate the model a series of experiments were conducted, some of which required custom hardware, to collect the pressure and temperature data at locations as close as 1.5 m from the nozzle. The predicted stagnation pressures were found to compare well with experimental results. To provide a measure of the temperature within the plume a multiwavelength pyrometer was used, and predicted results were also found to be in reasonable agreement.