Physical Simulation of Rocket Exhaust Aerodynamics Using Heated Ethane: Conceptual Foundations

Heated ethane (C2H6) has been proposed as an alternative to inert gases for use as a motive fluid in the experimental simulation of rocket exhaust plumes. By adjusting stagnation temperature, the isentropic exponent of ethane can be tuned to approximate those produced by common rocket propellants including hydrogen, hypergols, alcohols, and hydrocarbons. As a result, ethane can be made to follow a nozzle expansion process which is nearly identical to realistic rocket engine flow fields. Additionally, its high auto-ignition temperature and resistance to condensation enable the testing of expansion ratios much larger than conventional inertgas testing. NASA SSC has performed quasi-one-dimensional analyses using the Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) code as a preliminary means to compare flow fields produced by non-reacting ethane to those of reacting combustion products. A LO2/LH2 rocket engine operating at a chamber pressure of 5.0 MPa and a mixture ratio of 6.1 was used as an example case to demonstrate ethane’s efficacy as a simulant. Errors for key similarity parameters were compared to legacy cold-flow test methods. Additional errors induced by machining tolerances and chemical impurities were also examined. Results suggest that at a 3% geometric scale and ~500 K ethane stagnation temperature, an error of less than 2.5% throughout the flow field is realistically achievable along the dimensions of Mach number, Reynolds number, pressure ratio, and isentropic exponent. The development of an experimental test bed for validation of this configuration is currently underway.