ROCKET NOZZLES

BME PROJECT
: KSHITIZ SINHA (SC09B125 BATCH-III, Ist SEMESTER) : SIDDHARTH KUMAR < SC09B098 BATCH-III, Ist SEMESTER >

2009

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SPACE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SPACE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NOZZLES: AN INTRODUCTION... DESIGN PARAMETERS MATERIALS USED MANUFACTURING PROCESS RECENT DEVOLOPMENTS SOURCE DOCUMENTATION

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The nozzle is the device by which the internal energy of the exhaust gases is converted into kinetic energy, thereby producing thrust (force).

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The nozzle is the device by which the internal energy of the exhaust gases is converted into kinetic energy, thereby producing thrust (force). For any given propellant system, the nozzle acts as a metering device to control the rate of gas flow, thus creating a predictable amount of thrust over a programmed time period. The energy conversion is accomplished by causing the gas molecules to accelerate to extremely high velocities as they leave the motor. Solid propellant combustion produces a mass of hot gases equal to the mass of the solid material being burned. These hot gases fill the combustion chamber soon after ignition, and the pressure quickly reaches the operating (steady state) level, at which a constant amount is produced. Just how the nozzle can cause the gas particles to accelerate by apparently restricting their free flow by providing a smaller exit cross sectional area than that of the chamber is not readily apparent. What actually happens is this: The hot gases developed by propellant combustion are partially entrapped by the motor aft closure and the convergent section of the nozzle, thus causing them to compress. A curious fact of gas behavior is that under compression, if an escape route is provided, pressure drops as potential (pressure) energy is converted to kinetic energy (velocity).

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Characteristics of Ideal Nozzle:

The working substance (or chemical reaction products) is homogeneous. All the species of the working fluid are gaseous. Any condensed phases (liquid or solid) at a negligible amount of total mass. The working substance obeys the perfect gas law. There is no heat transfer across the rocket walls ; therefore, the flow is adiabatic. There is no appreciable friction and all boundary layer effects are neglected. There are no shock waves or discontinuities in the nozzle flow. The propellant flow is steady and constant. The expantion of the working fluid is uniform and steady , without vibration . transient effects (i.e., start up and shut down) are of very short durations and may be neglected. All exhaust gases leaving the rocket have an axially directed velocity. The gas velocity, pressure, temperature and density are all uniform across any section normal to the nozzle axis. Chemical equilibrium is established within the rocket chamber and the gas composition does not change in the nozzle (frozen flow) Stored propellants are at room temperature. Cryogenic propellants are at their burning points.
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1-D Analysis of gas flow in rocket engine nozzles

Diagram of a de Laval nozzle, showing flow velocity (v) increasing in the direction of flow, with decreases in temperature (t) and pressure (p). The Mach number (M) increases from subsonic, to sonic at the throat, to supersonic. De Laval nozzle The analysis of gas flow through de Laval nozzles involves a number of concepts and assumptions:

For simplicity, the combustion gas is assumed to be an ideal gas. The gas flow is isentropic (i.e., at constant entropy), frictionless, and adiabatic (i.e., there is little or no heat gained or lost)
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The gas flow is constant (i.e., steady) during the period of the propellant burn. The gas flow is along a straight line from gas inlet to exhaust gas exit (i.e., along the nozzle's axis of symmetry) The gas flow behavior is compressible since the flow is at very high velocities.

As the combustion gas enters the rocket nozzle, it is traveling at subsonic velocities. As the throat contracts down the gas is forced to accelerate until at the nozzle throat, where the cross-sectional area is the smallest, the linear velocity becomes sonic. From the throat the crosssectional area then increases, the gas expands and the linear velocity becomes progressively more supersonic. The linear velocity of the exiting exhaust gases can be calculated using the following equation.

where: Ve = Exhaust velocity at nozzle exit, m/s T = absolute temperature of inlet gas, K R = Universal gas law constant = 8314.5 J/(kmolK) M = the gas molecular mass, kg/kmol (also known as the molecular weight)

k = cp / cv = isentropic expansion factor

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cp = specific heat of the gas at constant pressure cv = specific heat of the gas at constant volume Pe = absolute pressure of exhaust gas at nozzle exit, Pa P = absolute pressure of inlet gas, Pa Some typical values of the exhaust gas velocity Ve for rocket engines burning various propellants are:

1.7 to 2.9 km/s (3800 to 6500 mi/h) for liquid monopropellants 2.9 to 4.5 km/s (6500 to 10100 mi/h) for liquid bipropellants 2.1 to 3.2 km/s (4700 to 7200 mi/h) for solid propellants

As a note of interest, Ve is sometimes referred to as the ideal exhaust gas velocity because it based on the assumption that the exhaust gas behaves as an ideal gas. As an example calculation using the above equation, assume that the propellant combustion gases are: at an absolute pressure entering the nozzle of P = 7.0 MPa and exit the rocket exhaust at an absolute pressure of Pe = 0.1 MPa; at an absolute temperature of T = 3500 K; with an isentropic expansion factor of k = 1.22 and a molar mass of M = 22 kg/kmol. Using those values in the above equation yields an exhaust velocity Ve = 2802 m/s or 2.80 km/s which is consistent with above typical values. The technical literature can be very confusing because many authors fail to explain whether they are using the universal gas law constant R which applies to any ideal gas or whether they are using the gas law constant Rs which only applies to a specific individual gas. The relationship between the two constants is Rs = R/M.
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Specific Impulse Thrust is the force which moves a rocket through the air, and through space. Thrust is generated by the propulsion system of the rocket through the application of Newton's third law of motion: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". A gas or working fluid is accelerated out the rear of the rocket engine nozzle and the rocket is accelerated in the opposite direction. The thrust of a rocket engine nozzle can be defined as: F

and for perfectly expanded nozzles, this reduces to: F The specific impulse, Isp, is the ratio of the amount of thrust produced to the weight flow of the propellants. It is a measure of the fuel efficiency of a rocket engine. It can be obtained from:

where: F = gross rocket engine thrust, N = mass flow rate of exhaust gas, kg/s Ve = exhaust gas velocity at nozzle exit, m/s
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Pe Po Ae Veq

= exhaust gas pressure at nozzle exit, Pa = external ambient pressure, Pa stream pressure) (also known as free

= cross-sectional area of nozzle exhaust exit, m = equivalent (or effective) exhaust gas velocity at nozzle exit, m/s

Isp = specific impulse, s go = Gravitational acceleration at sea level on Earth = 9.807 m/s

In certain cases, where Pe equals Po, then:

In cases where this may not be the case since for a rocket nozzle Pe is proportional to , then it is possible to define a constant quantity which is the vacuum Isp(vac) for any given engine thus:

and hence:

which is simply the vacuum thrust minus the force of the ambient atmospheric pressure acting over the exit plane.
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Essentially then, for rocket nozzles, the ambient pressure acting over the engine largely cancels but effectively acts over the exit plane of the rocket engine in a rearward direction, while the exhaust jet generates forward thrust.

Nozzles can be (top to bottom): Underexpanded Ambient Overexpanded Grossly overexpanded If under or overexpanded then loss of efficiency occurs. Grossly overexpanded nozzles have improved efficiency, but the exhaust jet is unstable.

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Aerostatic back-pressure and optimum expansion As the gas travels down the expansion part of the nozzle the pressure and temperature decreases and the speed of the gas increases. The supersonic nature of the exhaust jet means that the pressure of the exhaust can be significantly different from ambient pressure- the outside air is unable to equalize the pressure upstream due to the very high jet velocity. Therefore, for supersonic nozzles, it is actually possible for the pressure of the gas exiting the nozzle to go significantly below or very greatly above ambient pressure. If the exit pressure is too low, then the jet can separate from the nozzle. This is often unstable and the jet will generally cause large off-axis thrusts, and may mechanically damage the nozzle. This separation generally occurs if the exit pressure goes below roughly 30-45% of ambient, but may be delayed to far lower pressures if the nozzle is designed to increase the pressure at the rim, as is achieved with the SSME (1-2 psi at 15 psi ambient). Other design aspects affect the efficiency of a rocket nozzle; the nozzle's throat be a smooth radius. The angle of the narrowing down to the throat also has an affect on the overall efficiency, but this is small. The exit of the nozzle needs to be as sharp as possible to minimize the chances of separation problems at low exit pressures. All nozzles currently used on solid propellant rocket motors are of the converging-diverging (DeLaval) type, which is made in two basic configurations, the external and submerged. A nozzle type known as the "spike" configuration has been under development for some time, but to date has found application mainly on experimental motors as a means of controlling thrust magnitude and or chamber pressure to provide stop restart capability, and for missile applications requiring control of the amounts of thrust to be delivered at different times during the rocket's
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flight. The external configuration is the basic classical convergentdivergent design which is mounted entirely external to the motor. In the submerged configuration, the nozzle entry, throat, and part or all of the expansion core is cantilevered (extended) into the motor chamber. The submerged design is the more complex of the two, because: both the inner and outer surfaces of the submerged portion are exposed to the hot gases; and the submerged section must structurally withstand external pressure forces in addition to the forces developed by gas flow along its inner surfaces.

In addition, there are two basic exit cone configurations, conical and contoured. The purpose of contouring the cone is to direct the flow of the exhaust stream so that its force will be concentrated as directly as possible along the longitudinal centerline of the nozzle, thus minimizing flare or divergence of the exhaust stream and concentrating thrust as much as possible.

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The materials used in the fabrication of solid propellant rocket motor nozzles can be divided generally into five classes: structural materials; adhesives; sealants and greases; thermal insulators; and ablative (erodible) materials. Structural materials are applied generally according to the maximum operating temperature to which they will be exposed. Up to 500 F, the most used materials are aluminum alloys and fiberglass-resin composites, both of which have high-strength-to-weight ratios, are light in weight, easily fabricated, have good corrosion resistance, and are reasonable in cost. High strength steels are used when major considerations are high strength in thin sections, or operation at the higher end of the temperature range. Between 500 and 1,900 F-, the higher temperature iron, iron-nickel, nickel, cobalt, and iron-nickel-cobalt chromium base super alloys are used. Above 1,900 F, alloys of refractory metals (capable of resisting high heat without cracking, melting or crumbling) such as molybdenum, columbium, tantalum, and tungsten provide high strength to approximately 4,500 F. Above 4,500 F, about the only structural materials available are graphite and pyrolytic graphic.

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Aluminum alloys, fiberglass resin composites, high strength steels. 0 F

Iron, iron-nickel, nickel, cobalt, iron- nickelcobaltchromium base alloys. 500 F

Molybdenum, columbium, tantalum, tungsten.

Graphite, pyrolytic graphite.

1,900 F

4,500 F

Adhesives play an important role in joining the various dissimilar materials of which the nozzle is made to assure the soundness of joints and for sealing spaces between materials to prevent gas leakage. Sealants such as zinc chromate putty and silicone grease may be used to plug cracks. O-rings of rubber are used where more positive seals are required. Thermal insulators are used between the nozzle ablative (erodible) and structural materials for protection of the latter from the high temperature exhaust gases. They may also be used externally for protection from aerodynamic heating. The most common nozzle insulating materials are composites of asbestos fibers and phenolic resins, and coatings of ceramic refractory materials, principally zirconium dioxide. Ablative materials are used to withstand a combination of erosion, fusion, (liquefying or melting together by heat), corrosion, or decomposition, leading to progressive degradation (decomposition by stages), and or loss of material as a direct consequence of exposure to the hot propellant gas flow in the nozzle.
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Erosion resistant materials are used in the nozzle throat, since it is subjected to the most severe environment. The most common materials are graphite and pyrolytic graphite. The stronger and more heat resistant pyrolytic graphite has high strength, high thermal conductivity (capacity to transmit heat), and low expansion. If graphite or pyrolytic graphite cannot be used advantageously because of nozzle size or extremely erosive nature of the exhaust products, the nozzle throat insert may be a refractory metal or alloy, such as forged tungsten, arc cast tungsten, or tungsten-molybdenum alloy. If high erosion can be tolerated as in extremely large nozzles with large throat areas, reinforced plastics may be used, such as refractory fiber reinforced plastic composite materials. More erosion may be tolerated in the exit cone, since it does not exercise control over gas flow, so fiberglass reinforced phenolic resins containing silica, graphite, or carbon to increase erosion resistance are used in this area. Composite materials are under development which may be used to fabricate the whole nozzle for certain applications. Known variously as carbon-carbon composites, fibrous graphite, prepyrolyzed composites, graphite-graphite composites, graphite composites, and prechars, they will be formed primarily by pressure molding. All are characterized by two features: 1) all have been processed at a temperature high enough so that all charable material has charred and converted to carbon or graphite; and 2) they contain a graphite or carbon fabric, fiber, filament, or felt reinforcement bonded together, with carbon or graphite as the bonding material.

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Several fabrication methods are employed in the manufacture of nozzles, the types and number depending primarily upon the types of reinforced plastic components that are to be used as ablative liners and ceramics or metallic components that are to be employed in those areas such as the throat where little or no erosion can be permitted to occur. Ablative materials used in the exit cone usually are fabricated by wrapping fiberglass tape over a metal form called a mandrel, so that the grain of the finished unit is oriented to provide the required erosion resistance. Designers have found that cross-flow-orientation, or other grain directional orientation has an effect on the amount of the material that will be eroded away by the exhaust gases during rocket operation. After winding, the tape is cured, machined as necessary, and assembled with other components using adhesives and sealants as required. Throat materials may be forged, cast, or pressure molded. Structural shells of metal are generally machined from cast billets of aluminum or other alloys.

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Replica Formation

Machining of Contour

Machining of inlets and outer sides

Dimensional Inspection IF Coatings Dimensional Inspection Ready for use

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REJECTED

Dimensional Inspection

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Replica Formation: In this stage , a 3-d model of nozzle (solid) is made and all the cnc programs are checked so that no commands could go wrong. The replica is made of pure aluminium by moulding process and on it all counter formation takes place on a trial basis. Machining of Contour the shape (outer as well as inner) is formed using lathe (as used in RFF,VSSC). If the diameter is very large, usually vertical lathe is used, otherwise horizontal lathe is used (horizontal lathe is used only if weight of work is within the capacity/specification of the machine). Machining of inlets: Generally milling is used for making the inlets of the nozzle (which are required for attachments). Also the outer channels for cooling effect are made on it. Coatings: Coatings are very essential for nozzle to retain its composition in extremum conditions. Thermocoating, ablatives, erosion resistant materials are coated over the nozzle . Dimensional Inspection: In this step all the geometric dimensions of the nozzle are measured to check that dimensions are as per the requirements .The stage is required to avoid any deviation from the given design. This process is done after each stage of fabrication so as to get precise dimensions. It is done by using CMM (co-ordinate measuring machine).

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The following machines are employed for the fabrication of rocket nozzles: Lathe Milling Rolling machine Spinning machine Welding CMM

The different machines and their contributions in nozzle manufacturing are described below. LATHE This machine is used to generate the contour of the nozzle. Two types of lathe are used. They are as follows: Horizontal lathe: It is generally used when work diameter is small and work is not very heavy <i.e., within the capacity> .

: A horizontal lathe

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: A vertical lathe

Vertical lathe: If the workpiece is very large and heavy then vertical lathe is used.
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MILLING

: A milling machine

: Five axes milling machine is used for machining the inlets and also the outer curved channels of the surface of the nozzle.

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RIVETING MACHINE: This process is used mainly for nozzles of solid rocket motors. This is used (in place of rotary welding) to join the nozzle to the thrust chamber, after the solid propellant is filled inside the rocket. It is widely used for sounding rockets such as ROHINI SEREIES (RH200, RH300, RH560, etc.).

: A riveting machine

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SPINNING: This is used to form axis symmetric shapes such as convergent / divergent nozzle parts. It is a process in which a flat metal plate is shaped over a mandrel mounted on a spinning lathe by the application of levered force using various tools. Convergent/divergent covers of stainless steel are formed in 2 to 4 stages with intermediate vacuum annealing between stages at 1070C for 30mins. Blank thickness vary from 3-5mm and the achievable final component thickness is 1.5-2mm. Forming pressure of 120KN, spindle rpm of 500-700 and a feed rate of 6070mm/min are used. A typical spinning machine is shown in figure.

ROTARY WELDING MACHINE: This is used to join the nozzle part to the thrust chamber of the engine / motor of the rocket.

: A rotary welding machine

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CMM: coordinate measuring machine is used for dimensionsal analysis of the nozzle at each stage of fabrication. It is very crucial tool in the whole manufacturing process as it avoids investment loss and replacement costs, which may occur in a conventional process.

: CMM

ROLLING MACHINE: It is used to give the required well shape to the outer body of the nozzle. Uniform conical cross sections of the nozzle can be achieved by employing rolling machine.

: A rolling machine

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FABRICATION OF NOZZLES FOR CRYOGENIC ENGINES For cryogenic engine nozzles being used are mainly made up of copper by electroforming process. This process takes several days to complete the process. A typical electroforming machine is shown in the figure.

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Advanced designs
A number of more sophisticated designs have been proposed and they can be categorized by the method with which they achieve altitude compensation. Nozzles with an atmospheric boundary include:

the expansion-deflection nozzle the plug nozzle and the aerospike

Each of these allows the supersonic flow to adapt to the ambient pressure by expanding or contracting, thereby changing the exit ratio so that it is at (or near) optimal exit pressure for the corresponding altitude. The plug and aerospike nozzles are very similar in that they are radial inflow designs but plug nozzles feature a solid centrebody (sometimes truncated) and aerospike nozzles have a 'base-bleed' of gases to simulate a solid centre-body. ED nozzles are radial out-flow nozzles with the flow deflected by a centre pintle. Controlled flow-separation nozzles include:

the expanding nozzle, bell nozzles with a removable insert and the Stepped nozzles or dual-bell nozzles.

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These are generally very similar to bell nozzles but include an insert or mechanism by which the exit area ratio can be increased as ambient pressure is reduced. Dual-mode nozzles include:

the dual-expander nozzle and the dual-throat nozzle.

These have either two throats or two thrust chambers (with corresponding throats). The central throat is of a standard design and is surrounded by an annular throat which exhausts gases from the same (dual-throat) or a separate (dual-expander) thrust chamber. Both throats would, in either case, discharge into a bell nozzle. At higher altitudes where the ambient pressure is lower, the central nozzle would be shut off reducing the throat area and thereby increasing the nozzle area ratio. These designs require additional complexity but an advantage of having two thrust chambers is that they can be configured to burn different propellants or different fuel mixture ratios. Similarly, Aerojet has also designed a nozzle called the 'Thrust Augmented Nozzle' which injects propellant and oxidizer directly into the nozzle section for combustion allowing larger area ratio nozzles to be used deeper in an atmosphere than they would without augmentation due to effects of flow separation. They would again allow multiple propellants to be used (such as RP-1) further increasing thrust. There is also a SERN (Single Expansion Ramp Nozzle), a linear expansion nozzle where the gas pressure transfers work only on one side and which could be described as a single-sided aerospike nozzle.

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AREAS UNDER RESEARCH

SMART MATERIALS:
Smart materials are materials that have one or more properties that can be significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external stimuli, such as stress, temperature, moisture, pH, electric or magnetic fields. Such materials are under research which could respond to pressure variations such that they could increase the performance of the nozzles by adjusting the length of the nozzle on its own. STRONG FLEXIBLE MATERIALS: Flexible materials with high strength are under research whose length and orientation could be adjusted /changed during flight.

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Nozzle- a crucial part of a rocket has undergone a series of developments over years from conical to aerospike type. This has lead to a tremendous increase in the efficiency and performance of a nozzle. The methods of fabrication of nozzles have also technologically advanced and now computerized machines are being extensively used. Now composites are used for fabrication of nozzles. The Rocket Fabrication Facility (RFF, ISRO) is one of the chief centers of ISRO for the development of parts of launch vehicles. Here, design and manufacturing of nozzles; the quality control is also taken into account. As the human aspirations to reach the farthest of the sky is increasing, the development of nozzles has become crucial for the spacecraft / launch vehicles and is thus on a fast tract.

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SOURCE DOCUMENTATION
Books: ELEMENTS OF ROCKET PROPULSION -Sutton FABRICATION OF SATELLITES AND LAUNCH VEHICLES -Krishna Das Nair, C. G.

Websites: www.wikipedia.org www.nasa.gov www.google.com

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