Effect of finned configuration of circular tube based on fluid-structure coupling on hydrogen flow characteristics

Abstract

Abstract Nuclear thermal propulsion has the characteristics of high specific impulse, large thrust, green and efficient, and is the primary choice of manned deep space exploration propulsion system. Because the circulating flow of propellant hydrogen in the internal pipeline of the engine is always affected by the harsh environment of high temperature and high pressure, it is very important to study the flow characteristics of hydrogen in the pipeline, the heat exchange characteristics of hydrogen and pipeline and the deformation characteristics of pipeline under heat stress. In this paper, the flow phenomena of hot hydrogen in round tubes in a laminar flow state were analyzed by numerical simulation with COMSOL Mulitiphisics6.0, and the fluid-structure coupling between hot hydrogen fluid and pipe was investigated by a multi-physics field. It is concluded that the smoother the inner wall of the pipeline is, the smaller the hydrogen flow velocity is, the smaller the surface pressure of the pipe wall is, and the smaller the fluid extrusion and impact deformation of the pipe in the typical pipe with the inner fin is. It inspires studying the application of hot hydrogen flow and pipeline configuration in nuclear thermal rocket engines, including improving heat transfer energy and uniformity.