Numerical Simulations of Supersonic Flow in a Linear Aerospike Micronozzle

In this study, we numerically examine thrust performance of the linear aerospike nozzle micro-thruster for various nozzle spike lengths and flow parameters in order to identify optimal geometry(s) and operating conditions. Decomposed hydrogen-peroxide is used as the monopropellant in the studies. Performance is characterized for different flow rates (Reynolds numbers) and aerospike lengths, and the impact of micro-scale viscous forces is assessed. It is found that 2-D full micro-aerospike efficiencies can exceed axisymmetric micro-nozzle efficiencies by as much as 10%; however, severe penalties are found to occur for truncated spikes at low Reynolds numbers