Abstract
*† ‡ We compute turbulent internal flows in large solid rocket motors on meshes with unprecedented spatial resolution using the Rocstar3 package developed at CSAR. Since turbulent flow fields in firing rockets are difficult to measure in great detail, we use a highresolution numerical simulation of the TitanIV SRMU PQM-1 booster for validation of the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) turbulence models applied to these geometries. Aft of the star grain region, the flow is fully turbulent under quasi-steady operating conditions, and the LES model with eddy-viscosity-type subgrid scale model proves to be reasonably accurate even on rather coarse grids. Analysis of the thermal pressure history in the Titan and the Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) at various stations reveals highfrequency (several hundred Hz) pressure oscillations of locally significant amplitude, which are due to vortex shedding near joint slots. Such oscillations have not been predicted in earlier simulations, but can excite certain acoustic and structural vibration modes.
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