Cold flow simulation of the alternate turbopump development turbine of the space shuttle main engine high pressure fuel turbopump

Abstract

Completion of the installation at the Naval Postgraduate School of a cold-flow test facility for the turbine of the Space Shuttle Main Engine High Pressure Fuel Turbopump is reported. The article to be tested is the first stage of the Alternate Turbopump Development model designed and manufactured by Pratt & Whitney. The purpose of the facility is to enable the development of non- intrusive flow measurements and comparison of those measurements with numerical simulations. Flow field characteristics of the turbine stator were predicted using a three-dimensional viscous flow code. A sensitivity study was conducted to determine the effect of inlet profile to flow field solution. Recommendations are made for future use of the test facility and validation of the numerical simulation scheme