Modeling the Inert Particles Size Impact on the Flow Character in the Combustion Chamber and Gas-dynamic Losses in the Solid Fuel Rocket Engine of the Classic Scheme

Aeronautical and Space-Rocket Engineering


Аuthors

Nigmatullin B. D.*, Sabirzyanov A. N.**

Kazan National Research Technical University named after A.N. Tupolev, Kazan, Russia

*e-mail: bnigmatullin@internet.ru
**e-mail: ansabirzyanov@kai.ru

Abstract

The authors studied the effect of the monodisperse flow on the gas-dynamic losses in the combustion chamber and nozzle throat of a classical scheme solid fuel rocket engine in both axisymmetric and three-dimensional formulations. Flows with the particles of 2, 10 and 50 μm in size, which mass fraction was 4,625%, were being simulated. An approach based on solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations employing two-parameter turbulence models k–ε RNG and k–ω SST in the quasi-stationary approximation was applied. 
It was found that in the solid propellant grain channel particles tend to accumulate in the flow core, thereby distorting the cosine velocity profile typical for the homogeneous flows by a peculiar kind of “hollow”. The shapes of the “hollow”, i.e. the velocity loss on the channel axis, depend on the size and mass of the particles, as well as on the mass of the entire particle cloud, which increases as it approaches the channel exit. In the throat and at the nozzle exit area, the presence of particles leads as well to a similar decrease in the axial velocity, with the greatest losses for particles size of 10 µm.
It was revealed that the inhibitory effect from the particles presence in the nozzle throat leads to a significant shift of the critical pressure drop area depending on the particles size.
The article presents distinctive velocity and concentration profiles in the combustion chamber and in the nozzle throat, as well as the loss of velocity of a two-phase flow at the nozzle exit area depending on the size of inert particles and the turbulence models employed. The gas-dynamic losses non-monotonicity and the characteristic dependence of the flow rate and nozzle coefficients on the particle size of the two-phase flow are demonstrated as well. The difference between the solutions of a two-phase flow in a solid propellant rocket motor in axisymmetric and three-dimensional formulations was established.
It is demonstrated that with the injected particles size increase, the particle-free zone increases, which extent is being determined by the distance from the nozzle wall to the boundary between the homogeneous and heterogeneous medium and stipulated by an increase in inertial forces.

Keywords:

solid fuel rocket engine, metallized solid rocket propellants, two-phase flow, tubular grain velocity profile, flow coefficient, nozzle coefficient

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