Propõe-se aqui uma metodologia de projeto aero-termo-estrutural de motores foguete a propelente sólido. O projeto de um motor foguete deve ser realizado com o objetivo de cumprir requisitos de uma missão. Para cada veículo espacial, com uma nova missão, um novo motor pode ser projetado, necessitando para isso de uma série de ferramentas robustas, capazes de compreender todas as combinações de esforços existentes no funcionamento de um motor, sob condições de altas pressões e temperaturas. A metodologia aqui proposta é testada e validada em bancada de ensaios desenvolvida para este fim. Os resultados obtidos mostram que a metodologia utilizada se aproxima bastante dos resultados teóricos e pode ser ajustada por coeficientes de eficiência com grande facilidade. / It is proposed here an aero-thermo-structural design methodology for solid propellant rocket motors. The design of a rocket motor must be carried out in order to fulfill requirements of a mission. For each new space vehicle, with a new mission, a new motor can be designed, requiring for it a variety of robust tools, able to comprise all combinations of load existing in the operation of a motor under high pressures and temperatures. The methodology proposed here is tested and validated in bank of tests developed for this purpose. The results show that the methodology is very close to the theoretical results and can be adjusted by coefficients of efficiency with great ease.

A degradação ambiental dos últimos anos tem motivado a preocupação a respeito da sustentabilidade das atividades humanas. O manejo inadequado da irrigação e adubação, e baixas precipitações, para lixiviar o excesso de sais aplicados via água de irrigação, podem acarretar a salinização dos solos. A hidroponia se constitui em uma alternativa, para a conservação do solo e preservação dos mananciais de água. A rúcula (Eruca sativa Mill) foi a cultura escolhida para este estudo, pois a sua produção vem se destacando entre as hortaliças. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo determinar a tolerância da rúcula à salinidade da solução nutritiva. O experimento foi conduzido em ambiente protegido localizado na área experimental do Setor de Hidráulica do Departamento de Engenharia Rural da Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz - ESALQ/USP, no município de Piracicaba-SP. O delineamento experimental foi blocos ao acaso. Avaliaram-se nove níveis de salinidade obtidos com a adição de NaCl sendo estes 1,8; 3,5; 4,5; 5,5; 6,5; 7,5; 8,5; 9,5; 10,5 dS m-1. Os resultado obtidos demonstram que o aumento nos níveis de salinidade proporcionou redução em todos os parâmetros avaliados, exceto o número de folhas que não sofreu influência significativa e a relação raiz/parte aérea foi influenciada de forma crescente. A salinidade limiar encontrada foi de 2,57 dS m-1, com redução de 5,57% na produção para cada aumento unitário na salinidade. A cultura da rúcula foi classificada, como moderadamente sensível à salinidade. É possível obter produções satisfatórias utilizando águas salinas no cultivo hidropônico da rúcula. / The environmental degradation in recent years has motivated the concern about the sustainability of human activities. The inadequate management of irrigation and low rainfall fertilization, to leach the excess salts applied through irrigation water, can lead to soil salinization. Hydroponics constitutes an alternative to soil conservation and preservation of water sources. The rocket (Eruca sativa Mill) was the culture chosen for this study because its production has been increasing among the vegetables. This study aimed to determine the tolerance of the rocket to the salinity of the nutrient solution. The experiment was carried out in protected enviroment on the experimental area of the Hydraulics Section of the University of São Paulo (ESALQ/USP), Piracicaba, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The experimental design was randomized blocks. It were evaluated nine levels of salinity obtained with the addition of NaCl and these 1.8, 3.5, 4.5, 5.5, 6.5, 7.5, 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 dS m-1. The results obtained show that the increased levels of salinity caused a reduction in all parameters except the number of leaves was not affected and the ratio root/shoot was influenced incrementally. The salinity threshold was found to be 2.57 dS m-1, a reduction of 5.57% in production for each unit increase in salinity. The rocket press was classified as moderately sensitive to salinity. It is possible to obtain satisfactory production using saline water for hydroponic cultivation rocket press.

Este trabalho objetivou determinar as modificações ambientais causadas pelo uso de filme de polietileno de baixa densidade (PEBD), em túneis baixos com perfurações de 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% e 20% no desempenho da cultura da rúcula (Eruca vesicaria sativa (Mill) Thell) durante o verão e o outono e da cultura do rabanete (Raphanus sativus L.) durante o inverno e a primavera. Como variáveis resposta analisaram-se a umidade relativa do ar, a temperatura ambiente, a temperatura do solo, a radiação solar, além das características morfológicas da cultura: a massa seca, a massa verde, número de folhas (altura, peso, largura da planta), além da produtividade por área em cada tratamento. Os resultados mostraram que as variáveis climáticas envolvidas não apresentaram resultados significativamente diferentes entre os diversos níveis de perfuração pesquisados (5%, 10%, 15% e 20%). No entanto, as alterações microclimáticas ocorridas pela influência das perfurações no filme plástico tornaram o microclima no interior dos túneis baixos propício ao melhor desenvolvimento da cultura da rúcula (Eruca vesicaria sativa (Mill)Thell), e do rabanete (Raphanus sativus L.), resultando em maior produtividade. / The purpose of this research was to determine the environmental changes that the low density polythylene with different perforated film area (5, 10, 15, 20%) may cause on the rocket press culture (Eruca vesicaria sativa (Mill) Thell) during summer and fall time and radish culture (Raphanus sativus L.) during winter and spring time in low tunnel conditions. The climate variables analyzed were the humidity and air temperature, soil temperature and solar radiation. The culture parameters used to compare the treatments were dry matter, green matter, morphologicals characteristics of the plants (number, height, width and weight of leaves) and productivity. The results showed that find any significative differences between the climate variables inside the low tunnel with different perforated film area (5, 10, 15, 20%). However, the modification caused by the low tunnel with perforated plastic did provide performance of rocket press culture (Eruca vesicaria sativa (Mill) Thell) development in summer and fall time, and radish culture (Raphanus sativus L.) development in winter and spring, had better productivity and marketable characteristics.

Convergent-Divergent (C-D) nozzles are used in rocket engines to produce thrust as a reaction to the acceleration of hot combustion chamber gases in the opposite direction. To maximize the engine performance at high altitudes, large area ratio, bell-shaped or contoured nozzles are used. At lower altitudes, the exit pressure of these nozzles is lower than the ambient pressure. During this over-expanded condition, the nozzle-internal flow adapts to the ambient pressure through an oblique shock. But the boundary layer inside the divergent portion of the nozzle is unable to withstand the pressure rise associated with the shock, and consequently flow separation is induced. Numerical simulation of separated flows in rocket nozzles is challenging because the existing turbulence models are unable to correctly predict shock-induced flow separation. The present thesis addresses this problem. Axisymmetric, steady-state, Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations of a conical nozzle and three sub-scale contoured nozzles were carried out to numerically predict flow separation in over-expanded rocket nozzles at different nozzle pressure ratios (NPR). The conical nozzle is the JPL 45◦-15◦ and the contoured nozzles are the VAC-S1, the DLR-PAR and the VAC-S6-short. The commercial CFD code ANSYS FLUENT 13 was first validated for simulation of separated cold gas flows in the VAC-S1 nozzle. Some modeling issues in the numerical simulations of flow separation in rocket nozzles were determined. It is recognized that compressibility correction, nozzle-lip thickness and upstream-extension of the external domain are the sources of uncertainty, besides turbulence modeling. In high-speed turbulent flows, compressibility is known to affect dissipation rate of turbulence kinetic energy. As a consequence, a reduction in the spreading rate of supersonic mixing layers occurs. Whereas, the standard turbulence models are developed and calibrated for incompressible flows and hence, do not account for this effect. ANSYS FLUENT uses the compressibility correction proposed by Wilcox [1] which modifies the turbulence dissipation terms based on turbulent Mach number. This, as shown in this thesis, may not be appropriate to the prediction of flow separation in rocket nozzles. Simulation results of the standard SST model, with and without the compressibility correction, are compared with the experimental data at NPR=22 for the DLR-PAR nozzle. Compressibility correction is found to cause under-prediction of separation location and hence its use in the prediction of flow separation is not recommended. In the literature, computational domains for the simulation of DLR subscale nozzles have thick nozzle-lips whereas for the VAC subscale nozzles they have no nozzle-lip. Effect of nozzle-lip thickness on flow separation is studied in the DLR-PAR nozzle by varying its nozzle-lip thickness. It is found that nozzle-lip thickness significantly influences both separation location and post-separation pressure recovery by means of the recirculation bubbles formed at the nozzle-lip. Usually, experimental values of free stream turbulence are unknown. So conventionally, to minimize solution dependence on the boundary conditions specified for the ambient flow, the computational domain external to the nozzle is extended in the upstream direction. Its effect on flow separation is studied in the DLR-PAR nozzle through simulations conducted with and without this domain extension. No considerable effect on separation location and pressure recovery is found. The two eddy-viscosity based turbulence models, Spalart-Allmaras (SA) model and Shear Stress Transport (SST) model, are well known to predict separation location better than other eddy-viscosity models, but with moderate success. Their performances, in terms of predicting separation location and post-separation wall pressure distribution, were compared with each other and evaluated against experimental data for the conical and two contoured nozzles. It is found that they fail to predict the separation location correctly, exhibiting sensitivity to the range of NPRs and to the type of nozzle. Depending on NPR, the SST model either under-predicts or over-predicts Free Shock Separation (FSS). Moreover, it also fails to capture Restricted Shock Separation (RSS). With compressibility correction, it under-predicts separation at all NPRs to a greater extent. Even though RSS is captured by using compressibility correction, the transition from FSS to RSS is over-predicted [2]. Early efforts by few researchers to improve predictions of nozzle flow separation by realizability corrections to turbulence models have not been successful, especially in terms of capturing both the separation types. Therefore, causes of turbulence modeling failure in predicting nozzle flow separation correctly were further investigated. It is learnt that limiting of the shear stress inside boundary layer, due to Bradshaw’s assumption, and over-prediction of jet spreading rate are the causes of SST model’s failure in predicting nozzle flow separation correctly. Based on this physical reasoning, values of the a 1 parameter and the two diffusion coefficients σk,2 and σω,2 were empirically modified to match the predicted wall pressure distributions with experimental data of the DLR-PAR and the VAC-S6-short nozzles. The results confirm that accurate prediction of flow separation in rocket nozzles indeed depends on the correct prediction of spreading rate of the supersonic separation-jet. It is demonstrated that accurate RANS simulation of flow separation in rocket nozzles over a wide range of NPRs is feasible by modified values of the diffusion coefficients in turbulence model.

No description available.

This thesis aim to provide SSC, Swedish Space Corporation, with a foundation for understanding the key ideas behind water injection during rocket lift-off, including problems to be avoided when simulating the phenomena. This investigation focus on finding approaches suitable for obtaining a rough estimate of the reduction in noise generation, when too expensive equipment required is absent. The main idea was to compare different methods at the end as an alternative suitable way of verifying, since validation data was not available. The setup of the simulations consisted of two cases, one with water injection and the second case was without, and they were simulated the OpenFOAM software while the mesh was constructed using the GMSH software. A 1D analytical prediction model was computed using Matlab to estimate the noise generated. The result of the simulation showed an error of approximately 300-400 m/s within the rocket engine when compared to the Rocket Propulsion Analysis (RPA) software result. The maximum sound pressure level without water injection (SPL) from the analytical prediction model, ended up at approximately 172dB as well as 164dB depending on where it was "recorded". The maximum SPL with water injection was approximately 7dB lower in both recorded locations which was achieved by using optimal initial values. The biggest error observed by researches using this prediction model is approximately +2 dB above the real value. However, the error from this specific setup could not be estimated. The challenges and approximations encountered throughout this investigation is thoroughly discussed within the thesis and despite the absence of accurate results this investigation provides a thorough insight into water injection during rocket lift-off, with the potential of achieving better results using a more advanced solver in OpenFOAM.

A reusable oxidizer-cooled annular aerospike nozzle was designed for testing on a labscale PMMA-N20[1] hybrid rocket motor at Cal Poly-SLO.[2] The detailed design was based on the results of previous research involving cold-flow testing of annular aerospike nozzles and hot-flow testing of oxidizer-cooled converging-diverging nozzles. In the design, nitrous oxide is routed to the aerospike through a tube that runs up the middle of the combustion chamber. The solid fuel is arranged in an annular configuration, with a solid cylinder of fuel in the center of the combustion chamber and a hollow cylinder of fuel lining the circumference of the combustion chamber. The center fuel grain insulates the coolant from the heat of the combustion chamber. The two-phase mixture of nitrous oxide then is routed through channels that cool the copper surface of the aerospike. The outer copper shell is brazed to a stainless steel core that provides structural rigidity. The gaseous N2O flows from the end of aerospike to provide base bleed, compensating for the necessary truncation of the spike. Sequential and fully-coupled thermal-mechanical finite element models developed in Abaqus CAE were used to analyze the design of the cooled aerospike. The stress and temperature distributions in the aerospike were predicted for a 10-sec burn time of the hybrid rocket motor. [1] PMMA stands for polymethyl methacrylate, a thermoplastic commonly known by the brand name Plexiglas®. N2O is the molecular formula for nitrous oxide. [2] California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

A parametrical study is performed of coolant dump gas ejectors for a sandwich rocket nozzle design. Five geometrical variations are simulated in four ambient conditions (static, subsonic, supersonic, vacuum) using an in-house CFD solver. The test cases are compared with a baseline case and the resulting thrust and ISP are evaluated on a local and global level. A longer dump wall is found to give the best performance in all ambient cases, with a second possibility of reducing the circumference of the nozzle end stiffener. The possibility of post-ejection coolant gas combustion is encountered for high ambient pressure, high subsonic velocity flight.

The objective of this master thesis was to investigate an ablative liner for the T-Minus DART booster that will accelerate a dart to Mach 5.2 within five seconds. An oxyacetylene torch test was used to sort out the obviously bad materials. Glass fiber/epoxy, with and without alumina as fire retardant, and carbon fiber/epoxy were selected for further investigation. A sub-scale motor was built to expose the materials for conditions similar to the booster conditions in regard to temperature, chemistry, flow velocity and pressure. The target pressure could not be reached in the sub-scale motor but a polynomial function was fitted to the data in order to extrapolate the data and estimate the ablation rate at 7 MPa. The final design is always based on measurements on full scale motors. This could not be done within this report. Recommendation for future work is to use an insulator of 1.8 mm of carbon fiber/epoxy or 1.3 mm of glass fiber/epoxy/alumina for the sub-scale firings to come.

El objetivo del presente trabajo de investigación es determinar el porcentaje de reducción de pérdidas económicas en la instalación de tuberías con el uso de la tecnología no tradicional en el proyecto Oasis, identificando los ratios de producción y costos con la tecnología tradicional con excavación zanjas, y realizar la respectiva comparación con los ratios de producción y costos con la tecnología No tradicional Rocket Ploguh la cual consiste en la instalación mediante un arado vibratorio directamente bajo el terreno, prescindiendo de la excavación de zanja convencional. Para lo cual se plantean tres escenarios de análisis, el primero es una simulación del tiempo, productividad y costos de instalación de tuberías en el proyecto Oasis usando la tecnología tradicional con excavación de zanjas, el segundo es realizando la medición en del tiempo, productividad y costos, a los que se incurre durante la instalación de tuberías usando la tecnología Rocket Plough, el tercer escenario es la simulación de instalación de tuberías de un proceso óptimo usando la tecnología Rocket Plough. Finalmente, se obtiene la productividad de la mano de obra y de los equipos para los tres escenarios planteados, para hacer la comparación respectiva y determinar el porcentaje de aumento de productividad de ambos recursos, asimismo se realiza la comparación de los costos en los tres escenarios, para determinar el porcentaje de reducción de costos finales con el uso de la tecnología Rocket Plough, de este modo tener ratios de productividad y costos para la ejecución de proyectos de instalación de tuberías. / The objective of this research work is to determine the percentage of reduction of economic losses in the installation of pipes with the use of non-traditional technology in the Oasis project, identifying the production and cost indexes with traditional technology with trenching, and Make the respective comparison with the production and cost indexes with the Non-traditional Rocket Ploguh technology. The quality consists of the installation by means of a vibrator directly under the ground, without the need for conventional trenching. For which three analysis scenarios are proposed, the first is a simulation of the time, productivity and costs of pipe installation in the Oasis project using traditional technology with trenching, the second is the measurement in time, productivity and costs, which are incurred during pipe installation using Rocket Plow technology, the third scenario is the pipe installation simulation of a process activated using Rocket Plow technology. Finally, the productivity of labor and equipment is obtained for the three scenarios proposed, to make the respective comparison and determine the percentage of increase in productivity of both resources, comparing the costs in the three scenarios, to determine the percentage of final cost reduction with the use of Rocket Plow technology, thus having productivity and cost relationships for the execution of pipe installation projects.s. / Tesis