Retro-propulsion using rocket engine - A first feasibility study

Abstract

The study of impinging jets is a critical issue in multiple fields of manufacturing, such as spray coating or hot surfaces cooling and engineering, such as aerospace sciences. Indeed, a broader understanding of impinging jets is crucial to explain the interactions between the exhaust flow of a landing rocket and a platform. The flow exhausted from the nozzle of the rocket impinges on the landing platform, inducing complex and unsteady phenomena that threaten the balance, structure and staff of the rocket. This flow undergoes a series of shocks resulting from the coupled mechanisms of the flow and the surface. In this context, this work aimed to take part in the investigation of impinging jets. To this end, a test bench was implemented, with the intention to produce a supersonic flow exhausted from a convergent-divergent nozzle and impinging on a plate. This test could not be carried out because of a misconception of the nozzle, and a supersonic flow could not be produced. However, the setup was thoroughly tested and new experiments will soon be prepared.