Evaluation of the performance of supersonic exhaust diuser using

scaled down models

K. Annamalai
a,
*
, K. Visvanathan
a
, V. Sriramulu
b
, K.A. Bhaskaran
b
a
Vehicle Assembly and static testing complex, Indian space research Organisation, IRT, SHAR Centre, Sriharikota (A.P.), 524 124, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras-600 036, India
Received 9 June 1997; received in revised form 5 November 1997; accepted 5 November 1997
Abstract
Experiments were carried out on straight cylindrical supersonic exhaust diusers (SED) using cold nitrogen and hot rocket ex-
haust gases as driving uids, in order to evaluate the eects of the ratios of the SED area to rocket nozzle throat area (e
d
ae
t
), SED
area to rocket nozzle exit area (e
d
ae
e
), SED length to its diameter (vah) and specic heat ratio of the driving gases (k) on the min-
imum starting pressure ratio, (
o
a
a
)st, of SED. The rocket nozzle and SED starting transients were also simulated in the models.
The study reveals that (
o
a
a
)st increases monotonically with increase in (e
d
ae
t
) and k. One-dimensional normal shock relations
were used in predicting the (
o
a
a
)st since the compression in long ducts is basically a normal shock process. Predicted values of
(
o
a
a
)st were validated with experimental data. SED eciency factors(g
ns
) were arrived at based on one-dimensional normal shock
relations. g
ns
goes down at higher values of (e
d
ae
e
). (
o
a
a
)st is lower for lower k values for the same (e
d
ae
t
). Cylindrical SEDs
exhibit no hysteresis. The results of this investigation were utilised in validating the design of high altitude test (HAT) facility
for testing the third stage motor (PS-3) of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The simulation of starting transients in the model
revealed that the HAT facility shall not be operated in the unstarted phase, because the rocket nozzle may fail due to violent os-
cillations of the vacuum chamber pressure. These experimental data were also utilised for designing a SED for PS-3 sub-scale motor,
the results of which are covered in this paper. The accuracy of measurements are within a range of 0X4%. Error analysis of the data
were carried out and are presented in Appendix A. 1998 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: High altitude test (HAT) facility; Supersonic exhaust diuser; Rocket motor testing; Ejectors; Vacuum testing
1. Introduction
Rocket motors, designed for operation in upper at-
mosphere, needs a nozzle with large area ratio (e
e
ae
t
)
for eective utilisation of the motor pressure (
o
). When
they are tested under sea-level conditions, the ow sep-
arates in the nozzle. To evaluate the performance of
such motors, sucient low pressure environment has
to be simulated in ground testing installations. Various
methods of simulation of high altitude conditions are
given in Refs. [1,2]. The development of ejectors to serve
the dual purpose of evacuating the test cell and perform-
ing as a supersonic exhaust diuser (SED) in propulsion
unit test installation, has been in progress worldwide in
static test facilities [1]. Ejector with no induced second-
ary ow is referred to as the SED in the context of this
investigation. All high altitude test (HAT) facilities use
SEDs either singly or in various combination with other
simulation techniques [2]. The SED is an axisymmetric
duct placed adjacent to the exit plane of the rocket noz-
zle and attached to the vacuum chamber (see Fig. 1). By
virtue of this arrangement, the nozzle exit is located in-
side the SED, thereby making the exhaust to ow into
the SED. Fig. 1 presents the details of the HAT facility,
for testing PS-3 motor under simulated altitude condi-
tion. It utilises a SED for the evacuation of the test-cell
and maintenance of vacuum during the PS-3 motor r-
ing. The facility simulates the vacuum ignition and noz-
zle full ow altitude conditions, thus allowing the
qualication of the motor for vacuum ignition and stea-
dy state performance. It is imperative to evaluate the
performance of this facility using scaled down models,
before building the actual PS3-HAT facility. Moreover,
it is highly expensive and time consuming to build HAT
facilities for full size motors. Experiments were conduct-
ed on dierent sizes of SEDs and nozzles with cold gas
and rocket exhaust gas as driving uids. The results
Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 17 (1998) 217229
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 8623 65117; fax: +91 8623 65067.
0894-1777/98/$19.00 1998 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 8 9 4 - 1 7 7 7 ( 9 8 ) 0 0 0 0 2 - 8
indicate that the minimum starting pressure ratio
(
o
a
a
)st increases with increase in (e
d
ae
t
) and decreas-
es for lower k values for same (e
d
ae
t
). For long ducts
(vah b 4X86), (
o
a
a
)st almost remains constant. For
large values of (e
d
ae
e
)Y g
ns
goes down. Cylindrical
SED exhibits no hysteresis. It would be convenient for
the reader to understand the principle of operation of
the SED before going in for the details of the study.
2. Supersonic exhaust diuser (SED)-principle of opera-
tion
The mechanism of ow of a compressible uid in a
conned duct under the inuence of a strong adverse
pressure gradient has important applications in the de-
sign and operation of wind tunnel diusers, induction
system in air breathing engines and exhaust diusers
of HAT facilities. In the application considered here, it
is a self pumping ejector i.e. it utilises the momentum
of the rocket exhaust to lower the nozzle back pressure.
The pressure recovery is through a system of shock
waves. The structure of shock wave system in cylindrical
ducts has been a subject of considerable research. Photo-
graphs of shock waves in ducts can be seen in Refs. [3
6]. The interaction with the boundary layer near the duct
entrance causes the normal shock to degenerate into a
system of branched shocks. Near-planar lambda shocks
occur for relatively thin boundary layers and strong ob-
lique or X-shaped for very thick boundary layers [2].
The SED starting phenomena are discussed in Refs.
[1,2] and is illustrated in Fig. 2(a) (taken from Ref.
[2]). In region (1) of the performance curve, both nozzle
and SED are unstarted. As the
o
a
a
increases further,
the nozzle ows full, however, the SED is unstarted in
region (2). The unstarted regime consists of two phases.
In the rst phase, the ow separates from the nozzle
walls through an oblique shock (Fig. 2(b)), and in the
second phase, the ow separation is at the nozzle exit
lip. In both the cases, the ow coming out of the nozzle
adjusts to the prevailing cell pressure. In the second
phase, the ow at the nozzle lip could pass through ei-
ther a strong oblique shock (Fig. 2(c)) or a Prandtl
Meyer expansion fan (Fig. 2(d)). However, the jet com-
ing out of the nozzle breaks down through a complex
shock system and the supersonic ow is not prevalent
over the whole cross-sectional area of the SED at any
longitudinal location. Therefore, the ambient pressure
inuences the cell pressure. As the (
o
a
a
)st is further in-
creased, the SED also ows full and the shock system is
fully established in the duct. In this regime, the under ex-
panded supersonic jet from the nozzle impinges on the
SED wall (Fig. 2(e)). At this stage, the SED is said to
have started and corresponding pressure ratio (
o
a
a
)
is the minimum starting pressure ratio, i.e., point `B'
of Fig. 2(a). Any further increase of
o
will alter the pat-
tern of the shock system and the cell pressure varies lin-
early with
o
in region (3). Due to the adverse pressure
gradient of the oblique shock, that results from the turn-
ing of the ow, a part of the mass from the shear layer is
turned back into the test-cell. The prevailing cell pres-
sure aects the expansion of the free jet which, in turn,
entrains the mass from the test-cell. The cell pressure
comes to equilibrium when the mass entrained from
the test cell matches with that owing into it. Such a cell
pressure at point `B' of Fig. 2(a) corresponds to the
highest altitude that can be simulated with the given
nozzle-SED combination.
3. Normal shock model
Ref. [2] gives various methods of estimating the
(
o
a
a
)st of straight cylindrical SED. Out of them, nor-
mal shock model is chosen by virtue of its simplicity and
consistency. In order to utilise a straight cylindrical SED
for rocket motor testing purposes, it is necessary that the
design (
o
a
a
) be greater than the (
o
a
a
)st denoted by
point `B' in Fig. 2. The ability to predict, approximately,
the (
o
a
a
)st by means of simple theoretical model
would be of great value. Normal shock model stems
from the fact that the overall consequence of the com-
pression process in long ducts is closely approximated
by normal shock wave occurring at the inlet Mach num-
ber of the duct [4]. (
o
a
a
)st is then calculated, taking
into account the static pressure recovery across the nor-
mal shock. The starting point is associated with the at-
tachment of the jet at the SED inlet. So, (
o
a
a
)st is
calculated as if a normal shock wave were situated at
the SED inlet. Then, (
o
a
a
)st = (
o
a
1
) (
1
a
2
).
(
o
a
1
) is isentropic pressure ratio for (e
d
ae
t
). (
1
a
2
)
is the static pressure rise across the normal shock with
Fig. 1. PS-3 HAT facility.
218 K. Annamalai et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 17 (1998) 217229
an inlet Mach number of w
1
corresponding to (e
d
ae
t
).
Using the following equations, direct calculation of
(
o
a
a
)st is possible.
(e
d
ae
t
) =
1
w
1
2
(k 1)
1
(k 1)
2
w
2
1
!
(k1)a2(k1)
Y (1)
(
o
a
a
)st =
1
k1
2
w
2
1

kak1
2k
k1
w
2
1

k1
k1
h i X (2)
After evaluating w
1
from Eq. (1) and substituting in
Eq. (2), (
o
a
a
)st can be calculated. The fairly good
agreement (refer Table 1) of calculated and experimen-
tal values of (
o
a
a
)st is due to the fact that the wall
shearing forces in the region of separation are extremely
small.
4. Description of hat facility
Fig. 1 gives the details of PS-3 HAT facility. The fa-
cility has a vacuum chamber of 63.5 m
3
volume for ac-
commodating the test stand, PS-3 motor and other
thrust measurement links. The vacuum chamber is evac-
uated by mechanical vacuum pumps to provide an igni-
tion vacuum of 80 Pa corresponding to an altitude of 50
km. A cylindrical SED, lined with silica phenolic abla-
tive material for protecting the metal wall from the
hot rocket exhaust, is employed for maintaining steady
state altitude condition. The SED end is covered with
membrane assembly (this isolates the facility and atmo-
sphere) which has a high tensile steel mesh, for taking
care of atmospheric pressure loading, and the membrane
(rubber) to take care of the vacuum sealing. Safety sys-
tems like nitrogen and halon purging and water deluge
are also provided. Protection of the motor from the
back ow during starting and at burnout is achieved
by using a collar assembly, that closes the annular gap
between the nozzle and the SED.
5. Scaling criteria
The main parts of the facility which need to be eval-
uated for their performance using scaled down models
are the SED, the membrane assembly and their interac-
tion in dynamic conditions. Since this evaluation is not
so easily amenable for theoretical approach, it is essen-
tial to carry out model studies. It is required to select
a SED for the given rocket motor, whose
o
vs. time
characteristics, kY h
e
and (e
e
ae
t
) are known inputs which
are to be simulated as such. Therefore, the parameters in
the control of the designer are (e
d
ae
t
) and vah only.
Fig. 2. (a) Typical SED characteristic curve taken from Ref. [2]; (b) Unstarted regime, phase-1 nozzle is not owing full-ow separation is with in the
nozzle divergent; (c) Unstarted regime, towards beginning of phase-2-nozzle owing full with oblique shock at nozzle exit; (d) Unstarted regime,
towards end of phase-2-nozzle owing full with the expansion fan at nozzle exit lip; (e) Started regime, supersonic ow with complex shock system
in the SED.
K. Annamalai et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 17 (1998) 217229 219
Once diameter of the SED is xed, (e
d
ae
e
) is getting
xed, since (e
e
ae
t
) is xed by virtue of the motor nozzle
to be tested. The SED diameter has to be larger than d
e
,
otherwise there will be a nozzle-SED interaction, result-
ing in very high starting pressure [7]. Ref. [7] reports that
when the nozzle exit was attached to SED so that
d
e
= h
d
, the SED did not start at all. Hence, SED diam-
eter shall be so xed, to enable the nozzle to enter into
SED freely (h
d
b d
e
). Selected (e
d
ae
t
) and vah have
to be simulated as such in the models also. The impor-
tance of each parameter is discussed below.
Area ratio (e
d
ae
t
): It could be observed from the
Eqs. (1) and (2), that the (
o
a
a
)st is a function of w
1
for known (e
d
ae
t
) and k. The higher the ratio of
(e
d
ae
t
), the higher the w
1
which completely controls
(
o
a
a
)st for a given value of k. Therefore, it is adequate
if (e
d
ae
t
) and k are simulated. This condition tells that,
for a given value of k and (e
d
ae
t
), (
o
a
a
)st would be
same whatever may be the absolute dimensions of the
nozzle and SED. The sensitivity of w
1
and (
o
a
a
)st
for given (e
d
ae
t
) and k are brought out as follows.
Fig. 3 gives the variation of w
1
and (
o
a
a
)st with res-
pect to e
d
ae
t
and k. The sensitivity of (
o
a
a
)st, for a
given k, is high compared to that of w
1
for the same
variation in (e
d
ae
t
). Therefore, (e
d
ae
t
) needs to be sim-
ulated, instead of Mach number, for proper estimation
of (
o
a
a
)st.
Parameter k: From Fig. 3, it is observed that for a
particular (e
d
ae
t
) both w
1
and (
o
a
a
)st vary with k val-
ues. The higher the k, the higher the (
o
a
a
)st and w
1
values. It is fairly easy to conduct experiments using
scaled down models with cold nitrogen gas (k = 1X4) as
the driving uid. Since k is equal to 1.2 for rocket ex-
haust, the actual (
o
a
a
)st is going to be on the lower
side for same (e
d
ae
t
). (
o
a
a
)st increases with increasing
k values i.e. the actual SED would certainly start at the
pressure determined from the cold ow tests. This leads
to the conclusion that cold ow model tests are quite ad-
equate to estimate conservatively (
o
a
a
)st as long as
(e
d
ae
t
) remains constant.
Parameter e
d
ae
e
: At this stage, it is convenient to de-
ne SED eciency (g
ns
) which is the ratio of the normal
shock pressure recovery to the actual starting pressure
ratio.
Efficiency(g
ns
) = (
o
a
a
)nsa(
o
a
a
) actualX
(e
d
ae
e
) gets automatically simulated since (e
d
ae
t
) and
(e
e
ae
t
) are simulated. (e
d
ae
e
) simulates the total pres-
sure losses in the PrandtlMeyer expansion region of
the jet and due to multishock reections. Larger
(e
d
ae
e
) results in larger free jet surface and this condi-
tion results in higher total pressure loss, resulting in
higher (
o
a
a
)st for the same (e
d
ae
t
) and k. Experiments
were conducted by Hale with (e
e
ae
t
) of 18 and 3.914 in
the same SED of 119 mm in diameter, resulting in
(e
d
ae
e
) of 5.486 and 8.965 with corresponding g
ns
of
80% and 73% [8]. This indicates that the losses in the free
jet is quite considerable. It is also evident from the Ta-
ble 1 that the eciency (based on n.s) goes down for
higher values of (e
d
ae
e
).
Fig. 3. Variation of SED starting pressure ratio and SED inlet Mach
Number, M
1
with respect to SED cross sectional area to rocket nozzle
throat area ratio for dierent specic heat ratios of the driving gases.
Table 1
Results of cold ow experiment
Sl. no vah e
d
ae
t
e
d
ae
e
(
o
a
a
)st actual (
o
a
a
)st N.S g
ns
%
1 8.00 11.11 01.23 09.50 08.48 89.2
2 8.00 31.30 01.65 26.8 22.62 84.4
3 8.00 34.60 01.65 29.2 24.80 84.9
4 9.00 79.20 03.96 65.0 55.63 85.6
5 9.00 82.83 03.98 68.5 58.00 84.7
6 8.66 124.25 06.56 101.8 86.30 84.7
7 8.66 130.60 06.53 108.5 90.70 83.6
8 8.66 136.55 06.56 109.5 94.70 86.5
9 8.90 214.36 11.32 185.0 147.45 79.7
10 8.90 225.30 11.30 202.5 154.80 76.4
11 8.90 235.57 11.30 215.0 161.80 75.3
12 8.00 31.3 1.65 28.0 22.62 80.7
Test no: 12 was with 3 gimballing of the nozzle to the diuser axis.
220 K. Annamalai et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 17 (1998) 217229
Frictional characteristics of SED: Reynolds number
simulation is required to simulate the frictional losses
in the duct. The frictional coecient is a function of
Reynolds number in the duct. Generally, it is not that
easy to achieve this since (e
d
ae
t
) is xed by the criterion
as explained above. The model is geometrically smaller
and utilises cold gas whose dynamic viscosity is lower
than that of the hot gas. The dierence in the values
of viscosity and the variations in the diameters of the
SED compensates in such a way that their Reynolds
numbers are almost, of the same order, implying similar
frictional characteristics. Same g
ns
can be assumed for
all k values, provided Reynolds numbers of the model
and actual SED are of the same order. Hence, the start-
ing pressure can be predicted for hot gas using normal
shock model and g
ns
obtained from the cold gas tests
for the same (e
d
ae
t
). It has been found that the predic-
tion based on cold ow test agrees well with experimen-
tal data from hot gas test. This is dealt clearly in the
subsequent paragraphs on results and discussions.
Parameters: vah nd h
e
: Ref. [2] suggests that the
length of the SED can be 812 times its diameter. How-
ever, the study, here in reported, xes the lower limit of
vah as 4.86. Very long SEDs need higher starting pres-
sure, resulting from frictional losses. h
e
need to be the
same as that of the main nozzle. Higher h
e
increases
the angle of impingement, hence higher impact losses,
resulting in higher starting pressure. For obtaining the
best results, it is better to simulate vah and h
e
as same.
Simulation of the SED starting transients: PS-3 HAT
facility has membrane assembly for the vacuum ignition
simulation. After vacuum ignition is achieved, the SED
has to start and maintain a suitable vacuum in the vac-
uum chamber so that the nozzle ows full. The starting
transients need to be studied in geometrically similar
models using actual rocket exhaust as working uid.
Simulation of the starting transients could be brought
under two categories.
(1) The rst condition is vacuum ignition and subse-
quent starting of the SED. The vacuum ignition was to
be achieved in the PS-3 facility by closing the end of the
SED by a membrane and then evacuating the vacuum
chamber and the SED, using mechanical vacuum pump.
Using the hot gas experimental setup, starting transient
tests were carried out. The membrane assembly, similar
to that of PS-3 facility, suitable for assembly with the
hot gas model SED, was designed and used. Fig. 4 gives
the details of the scaled down membrane assembly used
in this performance evaluation programme. Grooves
were provided in the face of the membrane assembly
for holding the rubber membrane. The face grooves
were evacuated using mechanical vacuum pump. The
vacuum in the face grooves was helpful in holding the
rubber membrane in position thereby providing vacuum
seal against the atmosphere. The principle behind the
membrane assembly is thus; the wire mesh to take the
atmospheric pressure load and the rubber diaphragm
to provide the vacuum seal. Once the vacuum ignition
of the motor took place, hot gas started lling the
SED. When the pressure in the duct reached slightly
above the atmospheric pressure, the membrane blew
o. Since this was a dynamic system, the inertia of the
membrane certainly needed a higher pressure dierential
across it for blowing itself o. The pressure dierential
across the membrane was a function of the percentage
of the open area of the mesh. The higher the open area,
the lesser the pressure dierential required for the mem-
brane to blow o.
(2) The second condition occurs when the initial mo-
tor pressure is slightly less than the (
o
a
a
)st for long
time. A solid motor exhibiting such a pressure vs. time
characteristics was red in the model SED. Violent uc-
tuations of the test cell pressure were observed when the
nozzle was in started condition and the SED was not so.
Such uctuations in base pressure (see Fig. 5) got sub-
dued once the shock got attached to the SED wall by
virtue of the increase of
o
above the (
o
)st. The test cell
pressure was analysed for its resonant frequencies and
found to be around 40 Hz. (see Fig. 6). If the natural
Fig. 4. Membrane assembly used in the solid propellant rocket motor
model test.
Fig. 5. Cell or base pressure oscillations in the solid propellant rocket
motor model test.
K. Annamalai et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 17 (1998) 217229 221
frequency of the nozzle coincides with this value, the
nozzle may fail due to vibration. This proves that the
SED starting shall be instantaneous otherwise some
auxiliary pumping system must support the SED so that
the SED has to start against a lower pressure i.e. less
than the atmospheric pressure. Hence, it is imperative
to design the altitude test facility in such a way that
the SED starts instantaneously.
6. Experimental investigation
The experimental investigations can be divided into
two parts: 1. Cold gas model studies, 2. Rocket exhaust
gas model studies.
Cold gas model experiments: A sketch of the cold ow
nitrogen gas model test installation is presented in
Fig. 7. It consists of a nitrogen gas inlet pipe, primary
(simulated rocket) nozzle and the SED. Three congura-
tions were tested. The SED exhausted to atmosphere in
conguration no. 1, whereas, it exhausted to a vacuum
chamber in the conguration no. 2. Additionally, the
nozzle with 20.5

exit half angle was tested with 52.2

mm diameter SED with 3

inclination to the SED axis

to simulate the gimballed condition. N
2
gas was supplied
from a high pressure source.
o
was varied from 0.1 to 4
MPa using a pressure regulator. A cylinder of 60 mm di-
ameter served as the primary chamber which received
N
2
gas from the pressure regulator. A small cavity
around the nozzle served as the cell (vacuum chamber)
or base. Firstly, leak test was carried out. The testing
methodology for the two congurations were dierent.
For tests in conguration 1, the pressure regulator was
set to a particular pressure, the gas was allowed to the
primary chamber by opening the globe valve. This was
continued for about 10 s and the pressure was moni-
tored and recorded continuously. This procedure was re-
peated for dierent settings of the regulator pressure
upto a maximum of 4 MPa. For tests in conguration
no. 2, the vacuum chamber was initially evacuated to
a pressure of about 300 Pa using mechanical vacuum
pumps. The pressure regulator was set to a particular
value and runs were taken with constant regulator pres-
sure, whereas the vacuum chamber i.e. the ambient pres-
sure (
a
) increased continuously.
Hot gas experiments: Fig. 8 gives the experimental
set-up of the hot gas. A solid rocket motor (Agni), hav-
ing 40 kg of solid propellant and developing an average
thrust of 17 kN, was the simulated PS-3 motor. It was
attached to a straight cylindrical duct which acted as a
SED. The external surface of the SED was cooled with
water spray. The SED was supported on xed saddles.
The motor was resting on the test stand saddles and it
was butting against the thrust wall. A set of two nozzles
with dierent throat diameters were made use of. Both
the nozzles had (e
e
ae
t
) of 20 and half cone angle of
20.5

simulating the PS-3 nozzle (truncated). Three dif-

ferent SEDs of (e
d
ae
t
) of 36.7, 35.49 and 34.2 with
vah ratios 10.58, 8.0 and 8.68, respectively, were used.
After assembling the igniter and switching on the spray
cooling water supply, the motor was red and all mea-
surements were recorded in Super-16 computer.
Instrumentation: This was the common instrumenta-
tion and data acquisition system for cold gas and hot
gas experiments. Pressure measurement locations are in-
dicated in the Figs. 7 and 8. The measured pressures are
(i) inlet total pressure (
o
) (ii) cell or base pressure (
c
)
(iii) the ambient pressure (
a
) and (iv) vacuum pressures
(h
P
) along the length of the SED. The vacuum pressure
and the positive pressure transducers were of strain
gauge type. Positive pressure transducers were mounted
on the head end of the Agni motor. Shunt calibration
was given for measurement channels. The data were am-
plied and recorded in Super-16 computer through
ADC. The error analysis of these data are presented in
Appendix A. The accuracy of the measured thrust and
pressure data are within an error band of 0X4%.
Fig. 7. Experimental setup using cold nitrogen gas as working uid-
conguration 1 and 2.
Fig. 6. Spectral distribution of the base pressure oscillations.
222 K. Annamalai et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 17 (1998) 217229
7. Results and discussion
The PS-3 motor has a nozzle whose exit diameter is
895 mm and throat diameter is 195.5 mm.
(e
e
ae
t
) = 20 (It is a truncated version. The actual ight
nozzle has e
e
ae
t
of 50). The diameter of the selected
PS3-SED is 1150 mm, after accounting for the gimball-
ing space.
(e
d
ae
t
) = (1150a195X5)
2
= 34X6Y
(e
d
ae
t
)a(e
e
ae
t
) = (e
d
ae
e
)
= 34X6a20 = 1X73
Experiments were carried out for these values of
(e
d
ae
t
), (e
e
ae
t
) and (e
d
ae
e
) with cold N
2
gas as driving
uid. To make the experimental investigations complete,
experiments were conducted for dierent values of
(e
d
ae
t
) using cold gas. The results of these experiments
are presented in the Table 1. g
ns
values of Table 1 are
calculated as follows from the cold ow test data. Exper-
imental (
o
a
a
)st for k = 1X4 is 29.2 (from Table 1).
Normal shock (
o
a
a
)st = 24X8Y g
ns
= 24X8a29X2 = 0X85
or 85%; Fig. 9 gives the SED characteristic curve for
e
d
ae
t
of 34.6. This curve gives the variation of (
c
a
a
)
with respect to the variation in (
o
a
a
). It resembles
the typical curve of Fig. 2. Fig. 10 gives the theoretically
estimated values of (
o
a
a
)st for k = 1X4 based on one
dimensional normal shock relations and the experimen-
tally determined (
o
a
a
)st are marked on the same
graph. It could be seen that, at lower (e
d
ae
t
), the exper-
imental values agree closely. The disagreement in the
higher (e
d
ae
t
) range may be due to large free jet surface
area which causes more total pressure loss since same
nozzle was used while increasing the SED diameter, re-
sulting in higher (e
d
ae
e
). Fig. 11 gives the experimental-
ly determined SED characteristic curves for dierent
(e
d
ae
t
). The (
o
a
a
)st is higher at higher (e
d
ae
t
). In-
crease in (e
d
ae
t
) reduces the cell pressure, resulting in
higher altitude being simulated. Fig. 12 brings out the
variation of g
ns
with respect to (e
d
ae
e
). For values of
(e
d
ae
e
) less than 1.5, it exhibits high g
ns
indicating the
compression process is more closer to normal shock
pressure recovery. In the middle range of (e
d
ae
e
), the
g
ns
is almost constant. At higher values of (e
d
ae
e
), the
g
ns
is less due to more total pressure loss in the larger
Fig. 9. SED characteristic curve for (e
d
ae
t
) = 34X6 and k = 1X4 (cold
gas).
Fig. 10. Variation of SED starting pressure ratio with respect to the ra-
tio of SED area to rocket nozzle throat area for cold nitrogen gas as
driving uid (k = 1X4).
Fig. 8. Experimental setup using solid propellant rocket motor exhaust as working uid (k = 1X2).
K. Annamalai et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 17 (1998) 217229 223
free jet area. Very large (e
d
ae
e
) is not normally pre-
ferred in HAT facilities, unless the (e
e
ae
t
) is small and
motor pressure is high enough to start against atmo-
spheric pressure. (e
d
ae
e
) shall be kept minimum, so that
maximum eciency is achieved i.e. the SED could be
started at a lower (
o
)st or higher area ratio nozzle could
be tested for the same (
o
)st. Ref. [2] suggests that addi-
tion of subsonic diuser to SED reduces the (
o
a
a
)st.
Fig. 13 gives the characteristic curves with and without
subsonic diuser.
(
o
a
a
)st with subsonic diffuser = 26X77Y
(
o
a
a
)st without subsonic diffuser = 27X75X
The subsonic diuser is supposed to reduce the velocity
to zero but it is not so. The total pressure recovery
across normal shock could be taken for the estimation
of the (
o
a
a
)st for the SED with subsonic diuser [9].
Percentage reduction in (
o
a
a
)st = (27X75 26X77)a
27X75 = 3X53%. There is an improvement of 3.53% in
the performance of the SED or reduction in (
o
a
a
)st
to the tune of 3.53% due to the presence of the subsonic
diuser. If sucient margin of (
o
a
a
)st is not available,
this marginal reduction in (
o
a
a
)st could be advanta-
geously used by the addition of subsonic diuser at the
end of SED duct.
The following illustrates how to make use of these
data from cold ow tests. From the forgoing discussion,
the simulation of the frictional characteristics has to be
ensured. The following are the calculated values of Rey-
nolds numbers of the cold ow SED, Agni SED and PS-
3 SED.
Re(Cold gas) = 9X80 10
6
Y Re (Agni) = 5X56 10
6
Y
Re(PS-3) = 11X18 10
6
X
These values of the Reynolds numbers are of the same
order; particularly the Reynolds numbers of cold gas
and PS-3 SED almost coincides. Hence, the frictional
losses would be same and the SED eciency could be ta-
ken as the same for all models. Based on this assump-
tion, (
o
a
a
)st of Agni model was worked out as
follows:
(e
d
ae
t
) = 34X6 (for Agni model);
(
o
a
a
)st (ns) = 21X5 for k = 1X2X
(
o
a
a
)st (actual) = 21X5a0X85 = 25X30
(g
ns
= 0X85 taken from the cold test for (e
d
ae
t
) = 34X6)X
Fig. 14 gives the experimental result of Agni SED with
(e
d
ae
t
) of 34.2. It could be seen from Fig. 14,
(
o
a
a
)st was 25. Estimated value of (
o
a
a
)st, of
25.30 as above, agrees very well with the experimentally
determined (
o
a
a
)st of 25 in Agni model test. From this
fact, it can be concluded that the proposed PS-3 SED
would also start at 2.5 Mpa (assuming
a
= 0X1 MPa).
The initial pressure of the PS-3 motor shall be greater
than 2.5 MPa. If it is lower, the phenomena explained
in Figs. 5 and 6 are bound to happen. Fig. 5 gives the
plot of cell or base pressure oscillations and motor pres-
sure vs. time. Violent cell pressure oscillations were ob-
Fig. 13. Performance of the SED with and without subsonic diuser
for cold gas.
Fig. 11. SED characteristic curves for dierent ratios of the SED area
to rocket nozzle throat area, for cold nitrogen gas as driving uid
(k = 1X4).
Fig. 12. SED eciency based on normal shock model vs. the ratio of
SED area to rocket nozzle exit area for k = 1X4 (cold gas).
224 K. Annamalai et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 17 (1998) 217229
served till the motor pressure reached (
o
)st i.e. 2.5
MPa. This pressure was achieved at 4 s and the cell pres-
sure becomes stable. After the burnout, around 7.4 s,
when the motor pressure falls below 2.5 MPa, the ow
separates from the SED wall and consequently, the cell
pressure increases. Fig. 6 is the spectral distribution of
the base pressure oscillations which exhibits a resonant
frequency of around 40 Hz. The amplitudes of the oscil-
lations reduce with respect to time since the motor pres-
sure is continuously increasing and they die down at 4 s.
It has been estimated that the motor nozzle will certainly
fail due to resonance, if its natural frequency is around
40 Hz. Such violent uctuations are bound to damage
the nozzle and associated instrumentation. This situa-
tion shall be avoided always while designing the SED.
Fig. 15 gives the variation of (
o
a
a
)st vs. (vah). The
graph indicates that the (
o
a
a
)st does not vary above
the (vah) ratio of 4.86; Below this value, higher starting
pressures are observed. Fig. 16 gives the pressure recov-
ery along the length of the SED for k = 1X4. Agni model
SEDs were having (vah) ratios as 8, 8.5 and 10.6 and
(e
d
ae
t
) were varying from 33 to 36.7. All these Agni
SEDs started at a pressure between 2.4 and 2.7 MPa.
It is adequate if the PS-3 SED is provided with (vah) ra-
tio of 8 or slightly more. The PS-3 SED has a divergent
part at end. This is provided to oset the reduction in
cross sectional area due to wire mesh blockage. Inciden-
tally, this works as a subsonic diuser also. In addition
to the above tests, two tests were conducted simulating
the vacuum ignition and the starting transients, incorpo-
rating the membrane assembly in the model SED. Ta-
ble 2 gives the measured
o
and
c
with correlating
events for these two tests.
Table 2 indicates that the SED exit pressure of 0.1485
MPa in the rst test at the time of membrane blow o
was higher than that of 0.1175 MPa in second test.
The motor pressure, at the time of membrane blow o
in the rst test, was 2.136 MPa as against 0.576 MPa
in the second test. Perhaps, the condition of high SED
exit pressure warranted a high motor pressure for blow-
ing o the membrane. Moreover, the time at which the
membrane blew o in the rst test was 192 ms compared
to 92 ms in the second test. The test data reveals that the
entire duct was above the atmospheric pressure before
the membrane was blown o and this occurred at a mo-
tor pressure well below the starting pressure. The atmo-
spheric air could not enter into the duct and cause some
problem since, the duct pressure was above the atmo-
spheric pressure. The possible reason for higher SED ex-
it pressure in the rst test could be that, the mesh open
area was less in the rst test (69%) compared to second
test (88%). Therefore, the second test results were more
closer to the expected performance of the PS-3 facility.
Since the blow o pressure was less than the starting
pressure, the vacuum ignition condition did not aect
the steady state performance of the facility. The mesh
open area for the PS-3 facility can be any value above
88%.
Fig. 15. Variation of starting pressure ratio with respect to (vah) ratio
of SED for k = 1X4 (cold gas).
Fig. 16. Pressure recovery characteristics along the length of the SED
for cold nitrogen gas as driving uid (k = 1X4).
Fig. 14. SED characteristic curve for the ratio of the SED area to rock-
et nozzle throat area, for hot rocket exhaust gas (k = 1X2).
K. Annamalai et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 17 (1998) 217229 225
8. Application and usefulness of this investigation
These investigations were useful in designing the
HAT facility for evaluating the performance of a scaled
down version of PS-3 nozzle with (e
e
ae
t
) of 50. The mo-
tor was of 550 mm in diameter and 1000 mm long with
case bonded HTPB based propellant system. It was t-
ted with a nozzle having an area ratio of 50 and a con-
tour identical to that of PS-3 ight nozzle. The HAT
facility consisted of a vacuum chamber of 50 m
3
volume
for housing the load links, the test motor and a self-
starting SED with subsonic diuser whose external sur-
face was cooled by water. Fig. 17 gives layout of HAT
facility for testing PS-3 sub-scale motor under simulated
altitude conditions. The objective of this programme
was (1) determination of the vacuum specic impulse
of PS-3 (2) Evaluation of solid particle impingement, if
any, in the nozzle divergent region.
Nozzle throat diameter = 80 mmY
Nozzle exit diameter = 566 mmY
(e
e
ae
t
) = 50Y k = 1X2Y
Selected SED diameter = 640 mmY
(e
d
ae
t
) = (640a80)
2
= 64Y
From normal shock tables for k = 1X2 the total pressure
ratio across the normal shock = (
02
a
01
) = 0X0281;

01
= (1a0X0281)
= 3X5587 MPaY taking g
ns
as 857Y
(
o
)st (actual) = (35X587a0X85) = 4X186 MPaY
(It is better to take total to total pressure ratio across the
normal shock as per Ref. [9] for SED having subsonic
diuser). This SED had a straight cylindrical length of
5.9 m and subsonic diuser of length 2.9 m with total
length of 8.8 m. The subsonic diuser had an exit to inlet
area ratio as 4 with 5.5

as half cone angle. Fig. 18 gives

the results of this test. It is a plot of (
o
a
a
) vs. time and
(
c
a
a
) vs. time. The vacuum chamber was pre evacuat-
ed to 2700 Pa using mechanical vacuum pumps. The ig-
nition vacuum was 2700 Pa. On motor ignition, the mass
from motor charged the vacuum chamber i.e.
c
started
raising in consonance with
o
till the (
o
)st reached 4.2
MPa. Further increase in
o
brought down the
c
, to
the corresponding equilibrium base pressure. The vacu-
um chamber pressure was quite stable without oscilla-
tions, indicating that the SED was in started
condition. Fig. 19 gives the cross plot of (
c
a
a
) and
(
o
a
a
). (
c
a
a
) increased till (
o
a
a
) reached around
42. Beyond this, the SED started pumping out the gases
Fig. 17. HAT facility for testing PS-3 sub-scale motor under simulated altitude conditions.
Table 2
Test results of the simulation of starting transient
Sl. no. Events 1st Test 2nd Test
1. Starting pressure (MPa) 2.682 2.472
2. Time of occurrence of membrane blow o (ms) 192 92.00
3. Cell pressure at the time of membrane blow o (MPa) 0.1010 0.1037
4. SED exit pressure at the time of membrane blow o (MPa) 0.1485 0.1175
5. Motor pressure at the time of membrane blow o (MPa) 2.136 0.576
6. Mesh opening area as percentage of SED exit area 69% 88%
226 K. Annamalai et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 17 (1998) 217229
from the vacuum chamber. There was a lag, since it had
to pump out a large vacuum chamber. Finally, the curve
attained the equilibrium base pressure. In such a state,
(
c
a
o
) was constant. It is, generally, dicult to estab-
lish accurately (
o
a
a
)st in a pre-evacuated vacuum
chamber. It is more convenient to take the starting pres-
sure from the burnout pressure trace, since cylindrical
SEDs do not exhibit hysteresis [2]. From digital data,
the (
o
)st was found as 4.142 MPa. Fig. 20 gives the plot
of various vacuum pressures measured along the length
of the SED. The DP 7 which was measured at the exit
plane of the subsonic diuser read a constant value of
0.1 MPa indicating that the pressure recovery was com-
plete. This test has shown a vacuum specic impulse of
293 s for the actual PS-3 motor [10]. This value was ta-
ken for planning the 3rd launch of PSLV. The measured
specic impulse from the mission was 294 s [11]. This re-
veals that the specic impulse measured in the simula-
tion test was accurate.
9. Conclusions
(1) The model tests indicate that the PS-3 SED will
start at a nominal motor pressure of 2.5 MPa. (2) The
vah = 10 (including the divergent part) of the PS-3
SED is quite adequate for the complete pressure recov-
ery. (3) The vacuum ignition is possible without impair-
ing the starting condition of the SED by use of
membrane assembly. (4) The scaled down model tests
prove that the proposed HAT facility would meet the
test requirements of vacuum ignition and evaluation of
steady state ballistic performance of PS-3 motor. (5)
The starting pressure ratio is primarily a function of
(e
d
ae
t
) and k only. It is essentially independent of the
primary nozzle type or area ratio. (6) Geometric simula-
tion of (e
d
ae
t
) is adequate to get the starting pressure.
(7) The fair agreement of the starting pressure ratios
with normal shock pressure ratios substantiates the con-
cept that the compression is basically a normal shock
process. (8) Large values of (e
d
ae
e
) reduces g
ns
due to
the total pressure losses in the PrandtlMeyer expansion
region and due to multi-shock reections. (9) The
(
o
a
a
)st is slightly higher at 28 in the gimballed condi-
tion (3

) as against 26.8 in the ungimballed condition

due to the fact that the impact losses are more at im-
pingement point and the ow is not axisymmetric. How-
ever, the SED performance is same as in the
ungimballed condition in the started phase. (10) Same
g
ns
can be taken for a particular (e
d
ae
e
) for calculation
of the starting pressure using normal shock model for
other k values, provided duct Reynolds numbers are of
the same order.
Fig. 19. SED characteristic curve from PS-3 sub-scale motor test.
Fig. 20. Plot of vacuum pressures measured along the length of SED at
dierent locations in PS-3 sub-scale motor test. Fig. 18. (
o
a
a
) vs. Time and (
c
a
a
) vs. time graphs obtained in the
test of PS-3 sub-scale motor.
Nomenclature
e
d
cross sectional area of SED in m
2
.
e
e
cross sectional area of the nozzle exit in m
2
.
e
t
cross sectional area of the throat in m
2
.
h SED diameter.
d
e
exit diameter of the nozzle.
K. Annamalai et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 17 (1998) 217229 227
Appendix A. Error analysis of the thrust and pressure
measurement system
The details of the thrust and pressure data measure-
ment chain is presented in Fig. 21. The chain includes all
the subsystems from pressure transducer to recorder.
The physical calibration of pressure transducers was
carried out using a dead weight calibrator. The load cells
were calibrated using MFL calibration unit. The electri-
cal calibration of the thrust and pressure measurement
chain were carried out using shunt calibration box.
The overall accuracy of the thrust and pressure measure-
ment chain is 0X4%. The details of this calculation are
as follows [12,13].
Total error (RSS) in thrust
= [(0X04)
2
(0X27)
2
(0X12)
2
(0X001)
2
3(0X05)
2
[
1a2
= 0X37Y
Total error (RSS) in ve pressure
= [(0X15)
2
(0X27)
2
(0X12)
2
(0X001)
2
3(0X05)
2
[
1a2
= 0X357X
Vacuum pressure transducers are calibrated in situ with
capsule gauges as reference.
Total error (RSS) in vacuum
= [(0X20)
2
(0X27)
2
(0X12)
2
(0X001)
2
(0X05)
2
[
1a2
= 0X3677
The total error (RSS) in thrust, positive and vacuum
pressure is less than 0.4% in each.
Measurement chain sub-system Error in sub-
system
BLH load cell 0.04%
Positive pressure transducer 0.15%
Vacuum pressure transducer 0.20%
Error for 95% reliability (1.96r) 0.27%
Ravika dead weight calibrator 0.12%
Vacuum pressure calibrator 0.10%
Digital volt meter 0.001%
Transducer power supply 0.05%
Amplier 0.05%
Super-16 computer 0.05%
MFL load cell calibration machine 0.06%
Fig. 21. Thrust and pressure measurement scheme.
h
P
vacuum pressure in SED in Pascals.
k specic heat ratio.
v SED length.
w
1
SED inlet Mach number.

a
ambient pressure in MPa.

c
cell pressure in Pascals.

e
nozzle exit static pressure in Pascals.

o
motor pressure in MPa.
(
o
)st minimum starting pressure in MPa.
(
o
a
a
)st minimum starting pressure ratio.

1
static pressure upstream of the normal shock
in Pascals.

2
static pressure downstream of the normal
shock in Pascals.

01
total pressure upstream of the normal shock
in MPa.

02
total pressure downstream of the normal
shock in MPa.
RSS root sum square.
h
e
nozzle angle at the exit lip in degrees.
g
ns
SED eciency based on normal shock
recovery.
228 K. Annamalai et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 17 (1998) 217229
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