Altitude compensating nozzle
- Altitude compensating nozzle
An altitude compensating nozzle is a class of rocket engine nozzles that are designed to operate efficiently across a wide range of altitudes.
Conventional designs
The basic concept of any engine bell is to efficiently direct the flow of exhaust gases from the rocket engine into one direction. The exhaust, a high-temperature mix of gases, has an effectively random momentum distribution, and if it is allowed to escape in that form, only a small part of the flow will be moving in the correct direction to contribute to forward thrust.
An engine bell works by confining the sideways flow of the gases, creating a local area of increased pressure with a region of lower pressure "below it". This causes the gases to preferentially flow in the direction of decreasing pressure. By careful design the engine bell grows wider so that the pressure decreases in such a way that by the time the exhaust flow has reached the exit of the bell, it is traveling almost completely rearward, maximizing thrust.
The problem with the conventional approach is that the outside air pressure also contributes to confining the flow of the exhaust gases. At any one altitude, and thus ambient air pressure, the bell can be designed to be nearly "perfect," but that same bell will not be perfect at other pressures, or altitudes. Thus, as a rocket climbs through the atmosphere its efficiency, and thus thrust, changes fairly dramatically, often as much as 30%.
Altitude compensating nozzles
* Aerospike engine
* Plug nozzle
* Expanding nozzle
* Single expansion ramp nozzle
* Stepped nozzle
Other methods for altitude compensation
* Multistage rocket
* Tripropellant rocket
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Plug nozzle — The plug nozzle is a type of rocket engine nozzle that, unlike traditional designs, maintains its efficiency at a wide range of altitudes. It is a member of the class of altitude compensating nozzles, but unlike the aerospike, the plug design is… … Wikipedia
Expanding nozzle — The expanding nozzle is a type of rocket nozzle that, unlike traditional designs, maintains its efficiency at a wide range of altitudes. It is a member of the class of altitude compensating nozzles, a class that also includes the plug nozzle and… … Wikipedia
Stepped nozzle — A stepped nozzle is a de Laval rocket nozzle which has altitude compensating properties.The characteristic of this kind of nozzle is that part of the way along the inside of the nozzle there is a straightening of the curve of the nozzle contour,… … Wikipedia
Aerospike engine — The aerospike engine is a type of rocket engine that maintains its aerodynamic efficiency across a wide range of altitudes through the use of an aerospike nozzle. It is a member of the class of altitude compensating nozzle engines. A vehicle with … Wikipedia
Сопловой насадок — Иллюстрация ЖРД J 2X с выдвинутым сопловым насадком … Википедия
Сопло клиновоздушное — Огневые испытания плоского клиновоздушного двигателя XRS 2200 по программе X 33 «Клиновоздушный ракетный двигатель» (англ. Aerospike engine, Aerospike, «КВРД») тип ракетного двигателя, который поддерживает … Википедия
Клиновоздушный ракетный двигатель — Огневые испытания плоского клиновоздушного двигателя XRS 2200 по программе X 33 Клиновоздушный ракетный дви … Википедия
SERV — In the top upper left is SERV with MURP SERV, short for Single stage Earth orbital Reusable Vehicle, was a proposed space launch system designed by Chrysler s Space Division for the Space Shuttle project. SERV was a single stage to orbit… … Wikipedia
Turbocharger — A turbocharger, or turbo, is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine. Like a supercharger, the purpose of a turbocharger is to increase the mass of air entering the engine to create more power. However, a… … Wikipedia
Carburetor — Bendix Technico (Stromberg) 1 barrel downdraft carburetor model BXUV 3, with nomenclature A carburetor (American spelling), carburettor, or carburetter (Commonwealth spelling) is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine … Wikipedia