Impact of stagnation temperature and nozzle configuration on rarefied jet plume interactions

Agir, M. B. , White, C. and Kontis, K. (2022) Impact of stagnation temperature and nozzle configuration on rarefied jet plume interactions. Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, 59(5), pp. 1536-1551. (doi: 10.2514/1.A35362)

Abstract

The canting axis of thrusters on space platforms, which likely operate in a vacuum environment with a high degree of flow rarefaction, is significant in order to create the desired torque for manoeuvring, maintaining orbit, eliminating perturbation forces, docking, etc. Therefore, the interactions of expanding plumes with one another and with solid surfaces in multi-nozzle arrays are inevitable. In order to gain a better understanding of the effect of nozzle configurations and conditions on the plume-plume and plume-surface interactions, a simulation matrix is carried out for a sonic nozzle using the direct simulation Monte Carlo method with the dsmc- Foam+ code. As nozzle arrays are packed more tightly together, the plume-plume interactions become stronger, which has an influence on the stagnation line density and temperature profiles. For a given stagnation temperature, the spacing between nozzles in the array does not have a strong influence on the normalised surface pressure, but there is an increase in the maximum normalised shear stress as the distance between the nozzles increases. There is a significant difference in the results for double and quadruple nozzle arrays, with greater normalised stagnation pressures and shear stresses found as the number of nozzles in the array is increased. For a single nozzle, increasing the stagnation temperature does not have a significant effect on the normalised surface pressures, but does increase the maximum normalised shear stress and increases the measured heat flux on the surface. For arrays of double and quadruple nozzles, the number of nozzles has a much greater influence on the measured surface properties than the stagnation temperature.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: M. B. Agir’s research is sponsored by the Republic of Turkey’s Ministry of National Education (MoNE-1416/YLSY).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Agir, Muhammed and Kontis, Professor Konstantinos and White, Dr Craig
• Authors: Agir, M. B., White, C., and Kontis, K.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Autonomous Systems and Connectivity
• Journal Name: Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets
• Publisher: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• ISSN: 0022-4650
• ISSN (Online): 1533-6794
• Published Online: 02 May 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.
• First Published: First published in Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets 59(5):1536-1551
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy