Numerical and experimental assessment of a linear aerospike

Abstract. In the present work a linear aerospike nozzle model has been studied with cold flow experiments in various working conditions. A series of numerical 3D RANS simulations have been performed in order to directly compare numerical and experimental results. Mean pressure distributions have been measured on the nozzle model symmetry plane, in order to characterize the flow evolution along the walls of the plug. The presented results show a good agreement between numerical and experimental results.