Designing an axisymmetric aerospike nozzle based on modified MOC

In this study a direct method based on the method of characteristics with the assumptions of non-viscous flow and thermal perfect gas is provided to design of axisymmetric plug nozzle. Inputs for numeric code are including output Mach number, specific heat ratio, global gas constant and the number of discrete steps of Prandtl–Meyer expansion fan. In the design process, there has been no simplification and only to create unique spike geometry. Based on the criterion of locating the tip of the spike on the axis of symmetry, for each output Mach number, a correction factor has been extracted that it was the sole source of theoretical errors. Studied parameters include spike geometry, exhaust nozzle flow parallelism and uniformity. In the results by numerical analysis, consistent results with desired output Mach number and parallel of output flow with the axis of symmetry are obtained. The simple and direct formulation is used and so it performs very fast. Due to recognizing of the error resulted in the surface slope reduction factor, some movement in spike geometry relative to ideal conditions was raised so the effect of reduction factor will tend to zero by increasing of the design Mach number.