Análisis numérico del comportamiento del flujo en la sección de la garganta de una tobera cónica experimental

The flow pattern in supersonic nozzles is defined by the aerodynamic profiles of the geometry of the internal walls, among other parameters, the throat being a critical section. In the present work, the objective is to analyze the behavior of the flow in the straight section of the throat of an experimental conical nozzle of a solid fuel probe rocket engine. The over-expanded flow was simulated with the ANSYS-Fluent code in a 2D computational domain, using the RANS model and the Menter turbulence model, and the Sutherland equation for viscosity as a function of the temperature. Five case studies were performed for the throat length in the range of 1-10 mm. Fluctuations of Mach number, pressure and temperature, oblique shock waves in the throat section were obtained for the length of 10 mm; for shorter lengths the intensity of the shock magnitude decreased. It is concluded that, for the throat length of 1 mm, the flow is transonic without the presence of oblique shocks. In the diverging section, shock waves vary in intensity and change position.