Pressure Distribution and Performance Impacts of Aerospike Nozzles on Rotating Detonation Engines
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Authors
Schnabel, Mark C.
Brophy, Christopher M.
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2018
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2018
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Abstract
Rotating detonation engines (RDE) have the potential to further increase the performance of air-breathing propulsion devices and are currently being explored as an option for missions with wide altitude and flight Mach number ranges. Aerospike nozzles lend themselves well to this type of application because they possess altitude-compensating characteristics. However, the effects of the unsteady nozzle inlet dynamics associated with RDEs on aerospike nozzle performance have not been fully determined. Consequently, aerospike nozzle design has not yet been optimized for RDE applications. A contoured aerospike nozzle was designed for implementation on a RDE to examine the effect of ideal aerospike profiles on RDE performance. Currently, no simple nozzle design technique accounts for transient throat conditions inherent in RDE operation. Therefore, a nozzle contour was designed using a traditional, steady-state design methodology at both on- and off-design conditions anticipated throughout the combustion cycle. Steady-state, non-reacting computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed on various nozzle geometries over multiple pressure ratios to investigate the flow field structure along the nozzle contour and justify design tradeoffs. Experimental thrust and nozzle contour pressure measurements will be used to determine the applicability of first-order design tools for performance estimation
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This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.