Large-Eddy Simulations of a Single-Species Solid Rocket Booster Jet

Abstract

This paper presents the results of large-eddy simulations of a solid rocket booster jet. An inert gas thermodynamically equivalent to the rocket exhaust is injected through the entire nozzle of the booster in the atmosphere at flight conditions of 20 km of altitude. A local time-stepping method via coupling multi-instances of a fluid solver is used to extend the computational domain up to 400 nozzle exit diameters. The mean flow and the turbulence statistics of the resulting supersonic coflowing jet are analyzed. The structure of the flow is identified, and important features show good agreement with other studies. In particular, the potential core length is consistent with previous analysis, whereas in the far field, the decay rate of axial velocity and the jet spreading rate are consistent with those of incompressible coflowing jets. Reynolds stresses profiles and turbulence scales, evaluated via two-point velocity correlations, are coherent with available data from high-speed jets. This study proves that the methodology applied for this single-species jet is efficient and reliable. Therefore, it can be directly used for large-eddy simulations of a booster jet that model the complex chemistry occurring in the plume.