Shallow water experiments to verify a numerical analysis on an aerodynamically thrust-vectored aerospike nozzle

Abstract

Shallow water experiments are predestined for fast and inexpensive experimental examination of two-dimensional (2D) flow phenomena. In this study, the shallow water analogy is used for the verification of a previous numerical analysis of an aerodynamically thrust-vectored aerospike nozzle. Experiments in a shallow water channel were conducted, using a model of an isentropic spike with a 25 percent truncation and two secondary injection sites. A comparison of the flow phenomena, e. g., shock patterns, shows a wide correspondence of experimental and simulation results, thus verifying the simulation approach and encouraging to continue its improvement. Furthermore, it can be shown that secondary fluid injection is a promising method for active thrust vectoring on aerospike thrusters and gives an objective for future applications.