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ISSN Online: 2688-7231

ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-478-6

Proceedings of the 24th National and 2nd International ISHMT-ASTFE Heat and Mass Transfer Conference (IHMTC-2017)
December, 27-30, 2017, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad, India

EFFECT OF RETRO JET FIRING ON THE AERODYNAMICS OF A WING BODY CONFIGURATION AT INSTANT OF SEPARATION

Get access (open in a dialog) DOI: 10.1615/IHMTC-2017.40
pages 17-22

Abstract

Launch vehicles consist of multiple stages to enhance the payload capability. As the vehicle gains altitude, the spent stages are separated from the ongoing stages. There are several mechanisms to separate the spent stages from the ongoing stages, namely drag assisted separation, springseparation and jet-assisted separation. The vehicle that is considered for the present study is a wing body configuration which is taken to a desired altitude by a booster motor. The booster is separated from the ongoing vehicle by firing retro motors located at the aft end of the booster. Motors are placed circumferentially at diametrically opposite locations in such a way that the direction of net thrust due to the retro firing is opposite to the direction of the vehicle thrust. Flow simulations over this vehicle are carried out to understand the flow physics at the instant of separation. It is observed that due to ignition of the retro motors, the vehicle faces high thermal environment besides changes in aerodynamic force and moment coefficients.