Optimization of pintle injector position to control thrust propulsion

Abstract

Pintle nozzle plays a pivotal role in the field of aerospace industry because of the feature of controlling thrust propulsion and steering. The peculiar nozzle design of the pintle injector helps in proper mixing of propellants and also forces fluids into the combustion chamber. The position of pintle in rocketry nozzle also contributes in improving efficiency. This paper is concerned to perform CFD analysis to optimize shape of the pintle head and also by varying different positions of the pointer or pintle. In the later stage the results are tabulated for two different speeds of flow namely Minimum and Maximum. The graphs were plotted for Static Pressure, Velocity Magnitude, Turbulent Kinetic Energy, Cell Reynolds number and Strain Rate and best model is assessed. The total study and simulation was performed using ANSYS Fluent 14.5.