Modeling a rocket engine using the characteristic line method

• Grant number: 24/09092-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2024
• Effective date (End): September 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Aerospace Engineering - Aerodynamics
• Principal Investigator: Leandra Isabel de Abreu
• Grantee: Gabriel Augusto Batista Clemonini
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental São João da Boa Vista. São João da Boa Vista , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Over time, aeronautical and aerospace technology advanced, and with that, reaction engines and rocket engines emerged. One of the main parts of these engines is the outlet nozzle. The present study will use the characteristic line method as a theoretical approach to obtain the shape of a rocket engine nozzle. To validate the theoretical method, a numerical simulation will be carried out, in order to demonstrate the validation of the characteristics method in a real project. This method, which consists of finding important points of the flow, such as those on the nozzle wall, through the so-called "characteristic lines" that come from the velocity potential equation, is a simple iterative method, which requires little initial data, However, it is very effective, and because of this, it is still used today in real projects.