Numerical simulation of composite solid propellant rocket motor exhaust plume

The CEA(Chemical Equilibrium with Applications)was used to calculate the equilibrium composition of composite propellant and inlet parameter of the nozzle. Then numerical simulations of solid rocket motor nozzle and exhaust plume flow-field were carried using FLUENT software. The 2D axisymmetric Navier-Stokes equations were solved by time-marching method and AUSM spatial discretization scheme. The k-ε turbulence model, chemical kinetics and Lagrange method were taken to describe turbulence, H₂, CO, HCl afterburning and gas-particle(Al₂O₃)interaction in the exhaust plume. The calculation was made at different altitude and Mach number. The flow-fields under different conditions were described. The results show that: the afterburning of H₂, CO and HCl has significantly influence on the plume flow-field, the flow-field expands along with the increasing of altitude, and the wave number is reduced with the increasing of Mach number.