Investigation of Full-Length Aerospike Nozzle

The aim of the paper is to design the aerospike nozzle and analyse the flow over it for various conditions by carrying out flow simulations in software. Contour was obtained with the help of a MATLAB Code. Effect of different atmospheric pressure, varying with altitude, in correspondence with the design pressure has been studied through numerical simulations in order to understand the performance of the aerospike nozzle in conditions categorized as over-expansion, optimum and under expansion (Nazarinia et al., Design and numerical analysis of aerospike nozzles with different plug shapes to compare their performance with a conventional nozzle [1]).Also, how the changes in various parameters impacts the performance is studied. Thrust is a very important parameter in gauging the functionality and capability of the aerospike nozzle. The overall thrust generated is calculated with the help of the MATLAB code generated for 100% length spike. Overall thrust is a combination of the thrust that is generated due to that of the chamber force and the one due to the flow of the gases over the spike (Besnard et al., Design, manufacturing and test of a plug nozzle rocket engine [2]). The program build helps in quickly obtaining the thrust values for different conditions imposed. The outcomes of the analysis depict how the aerospike showcases good performance even during its operation at altitudes other than the optimum altitude.