Coupled Analysis of Flow and Surface Ablation in Carbon-Carbon Rocket Nozzles

A study is conducted to predict C/C nozzle recession behavior in solid rocket motors for broad variations of propellant formulations and motor operating conditions. The numerical model considers the turbulent flow in the nozzle, heterogeneous chemical reactions at the nozzle surface, variable transport and thermodynamic properties, and heat conduction in the nozzle material. Results show that the recession rate is largely determined by the diffusion of the major oxidizing species (H2O, CO2, OH) to the nozzle surface. Both the concentration of the major oxidizing species -affected by the aluminum content of the propellant- and the chamber pressure exert a strong influence on the recession rate. The erosion rate increases almost linearly with chamber pressure and decreases with propellants with higher aluminum content. The calculated results show a very good agreement with the experimental data from the BATES motor firings.