Numerical investigation of the flow of combustion products containing high-dispersive aluminum powder in the solid-fuel rocket engine nozzles

The work is devoted to the numerical investigation of the flow of metalized fuel combustion products in the rocket engine nozzle cluster. The system of equations for the gas-droplet environment is written in the model of interpenetrating multispeed and multitemperature continua. The condensed phase is represented by an ensemble of polydisperse liquid alumina particles. Coagulation and fragmentation are taken into account due to the interaction both with each other and with the gas. The description of condensate particle interaction is based on the continuous approach of variation in the size distribution function.
The dependence of two-phase losses of the engine on the size of aluminum oxide particles due to the nonequilibrium of the flow at the nozzle entrance is shown. Results of the numerical calculation of the quasi-one-dimensional steady flow of aluminized fuel combustion products in the profiled solid-fuel rocket engine nozzle are presented. Analysis of the calculation data suggests that the use of high-dispersed aluminum powder in composite solid propellants increases the specific impulse of the engine as compared to previously used powders.