Abstract

The flow pattern in supersonic nozzles is defined by the aerodynamic profiles of the geometry of the internal walls, among other parameters, the throat being a critical section. In the present work, the objective is to analyze the behavior of the flow in the straight section of the throat of an experimental conical nozzle of a solid fuel probe rocket engine. The over-expanded flow was simulated with the ANSYS-Fluent code in a 2D computational domain, using the RANS model and the Menter turbulence model, and the Sutherland equation for viscosity as a function of the temperature. Five case studies were performed for the throat length in the range of 1-10 mm. Fluctuations of Mach number, pressure and temperature, oblique shock waves in the throat section were obtained for the length of 10 mm; for shorter lengths the intensity of the shock magnitude decreased. It is concluded that, for the throat length of 1 mm, the flow is transonic without the presence of oblique shocks. In the diverging section, shock waves vary in intensity and change position.