Simulation by flux method of flow in divergent section of adjustable nozzle of braking engine for re-entry vehicle

The flow of viscous heat-conducting gas inside the divergent section of a three-dimensional nozzle was numerically simulated using a conservative flux method. Calculations were performed over a broad range of variations of parameters which affect the flow nature and patterns, in particular, flow separation inside the nozzle. A rectangular nozzle throat section was examined, the size of which could be adjusted by varying the length of one of the sides. The nozzle exit plane was steeply inclined with respect to its longitudinal axis. Studies were conducted of the effects that the throat section area and the pressure in the convergent section have on the parameters of the flow in the divergent section of the nozzle, the flow separation position, as well as on the lateral forces acting on the inner part of the nozzle. Distributions of flow parameters inside the nozzle are provided. Flow patterns both inside and outside the nozzle were visualized. The computation was performed using parallel algorithms implemented on a multi-processor cluster-architecture supercomputer using up to 1 000 computational nodes.