Publication Date:
2019-08-17
Description:
The performance of an area ratio 200 bell-shaped nozzle, an area ratio 25 bell-shaped nozzle, and an area ratio 8 conic nozzle on a JP-4 fuel and liquid-oxygen rocket engine has been determined. Tests were conducted using a nominal 4000-pound-thrust rocket in the Lewis 10- by 10-foot supersonic tunnel, which provided the altitude environment needed for fully expanded nozzle flow. The area ratio 200 nozzle had a vacuum thrust coefficient of 1.96, compared with 1.82 and 1.70 for the area ratio 25 and 8 nozzles, respectively. These values are approximately equal to those for theoretical frozen expansion. The measured value of vacuum specific impulse for the area ratio 200 nozzle was 317 seconds for a combustion-chamber characteristic velocity of 5200 feet per second. The vacuum-specific-impulse increase for the area-ratio increase from 8 to 200 was 46 seconds.
Keywords:
Spacecraft Propulsion and Power
Type:
NASA-TM-X-382
Format:
application/pdf
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