Calculations of low Reynolds number rocket nozzles

The performance of low-thrust rocket nozzles was studied with a full Navier-Stokes code. The effect of the reduction of the nozzle length on the viscous loss and on the two-dimensional loss due to the increase in the nozzle exit angle was examined by calculating the flowfield and performance values of hydrogen resistojet nozzle with various lengths and shapes (such as 20-deg or 30-deg conical nozzles and a nozzle whose wall contour is given by the Rao nozzle optimization code). It was found that the vacuum specific impulse value of the 30-deg conical nozzle was the highest and that of the contoured nozzle was the lowest among the three nozzles, whose throat Reynolds number and area ratio were 1150 and 82, respectively.