CFD Analysis on Cooling of Conical Plug Aerospike Nozzle with Secondary Fluid Injection

Developments in space technology have demanded high-performance altitude compensating nozzles for long interplanetary missions and reusable launch vehicles. An improved rocket nozzle that can be used as an altitude compensating nozzle is the Conical Plug Aerospike Nozzle. In this study, a coolant is injected in the nozzle’s throat region by altering the shape of the conical plug nozzle. On a two-dimensional axisymmetric model of a Conical Plug Aerospike Nozzle with secondary fluid injection at the throat area, hot flow is numerically simulated. The shear stress transport k-ω turbulence model is used to solve Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. With different secondary fluid mass flow rates, it is possible to calculate the temperature distribution on the nozzle wall and the cooling efficiency of the coolant on the nozzle wall. According to the study, utilizing LH2 film cooling in a Conical Plug Aerospike Nozzle is significant and crucial. The study also shows a reduction of specific impulse with increasing coolant flow rate.