1.

INTRODUCTION
In todays realm of aeronautics and astronautics, the reality of costs to access space has been
astoundingly high, making it quite difficult to make space access affordable. Some of the
biggest contributing factors to the high cost in accessing space are in the design of the
propulsion system, fuel cost, and regulations. It is given that improved rocket nozzles can
lead to heavier payloads, less weight, longer range, and much lower costs. The multi-purpose
low-cost reusable Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO) transportation system concept is a strong
trend of aerospace technology development. For this type of system, the aerospike nozzle is
critical. Over the years, the aerospike nozzle has already attracted much attention with its
outstanding advantages of automatic altitude compensation ability of altitude performance,
which would complement of SSTO applications.
More recently, during the 1990s, NASA invested in the development of aerospike
technology for Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO) Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV) as part of the
now-defunct X-33 program. This program led to the development of several linear aerospike
engines, RS 2200, which were tested repeatedly. To date, however, no aerospike engine is
known to have powered a rocket in flight. Unlike conventional bell-shaped nozzles, which
operate optimally at one particular altitude, plug nozzles allow the flow expansion to selfadjust, thus improving thrust coefficients. This improvement over conventional bell-shaped
nozzles occurs at altitudes lower than the design altitude. This is particularly critical for
SSTO vehicles, which operate both in the atmosphere and in vacuum . At altitudes higher
than the design altitude, plug nozzles essentially operate similarly to bell nozzles.

1. HISTORY
NASA and its industry partner in the X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator program,
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., of Palmdale, Calif., have taken a 30-year-old idea the
linear aerospike engine and updated it for the 21st century by incorporating new technologies
and materials. The effort is managed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville,
Ala., NASAs Lead Center for Space Transportation Systems Development and Center of
Excellence in Propulsion.
The aerospike engine is being developed from groundwork laid in the 1960s and 1970s by
the Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power unit of The Boeing Company in Canoga Park, Calif.
Unlike conventional rocket engines, which feature a bell nozzle that constricts expanding
gasses, the basic aerospike shape is that of a bell turned inside out and upside down. When
the reconfigured bell is "unwrapped" and laid flat, it is called a linear aerospike. The
aerospike engine is being developed from groundwork laid by power unit of Boeing
Company in California. The effort is managed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center.
NASA engineers at the Marshall Center have conducted a number of tests for the linear
aerospike engine. Rocketdyne conducted a lengthy series of tests in the 1960s on various
designs. Later models of these engines were based on their highly reliable J-2 engine
machinery and provided the same sort of thrust levels as the conventional engines they were
based on; 200,000 lbf (890 kN) in the J-2T-200k, and 250,000 lbf (1.1 MN) in the J-2T250k (the T refers to the toroidal combustion chamber). Thirty years later their work was
dusted off again for use in NASA's X-33 project. In this case the slightly upgraded J-2S
engine machinery was used with a linear spike, creating theXRS-2200. After more
development and considerable testing, this project was cancelled when the X-33's composite
fuel tanks repeatedly failed.

3. NEED FOR NEW DESIGN

The revolution in aerospace propulsion was increased greatly during World War 2. Faster,
bigger and more efficient aerospace vehicles were required which led to the birth of Space
research organizations like NASA. Speaking about the future, advanced rocket propulsion
systems will require exhaust nozzles that perform efficiently over a wide range of ambient
operating conditions. Most nozzles either lack this altitude compensating effect or they are
extremely difficult to manufacture. Bell nozzles are currently used for all aerospace
applications. As stated earlier, the main drawback of this design is the decrease in efficiency
with the increase in altitude as there is a loss of thrust in the nozzle. This occurs due to a
phenomenon called separation of the combustion gases. For conventional bell nozzles, loss
mechanisms fall into three categories:

Geometric or divergence loss,

Viscous drag loss,

Chemical kinetics loss

Geometric loss results when a portion of the nozzle exit flow is directed away from the
nozzle axis, resulting in a radial component of momentum. In an ideal nozzle, the exit flow is
completely parallel to the nozzle axis and possesses uniform pressure and Mach number. By
calculating the momentum of the actual nozzle exit flow and comparing it to the parallel,
uniform flow condition, the geometric efficiency is determined. By careful shaping of the
nozzle wall, relatively high geometric efficiency can be realized. A drag force, produced at
the nozzle wall by the effects of a viscous high-speed flow, acts opposite to the direction of
thrust, and therefore results in a decrease in nozzle efficiency. The drag force is obtained by
calculation of the momentum deficit in the wall boundary layer. The third nozzle loss
mechanism is due to finite-rate chemical kinetics. Ideally, the engine exhaust gas reaches
chemical equilibrium at any point in the nozzle flow field, instantaneously adjusting to each
new temperature and pressure condition. In real terms, however, the rapidly accelerating

nozzle flow does not permit time for the gas to reach full chemical equilibrium. A long nozzle
is needed to maximize the geometric efficiency; but simultaneously, nozzle drag is reduced if
the nozzle is shortened. If chemical kinetics is an issue, then the acceleration of exhaust gases
at the nozzle throat should be slowed by increasing the radius of curvature applied to the
design of the throat region. The optimum nozzle contour is a design compromise that results
in maximum overall nozzle efficiency. Nozzle contours can also be designed for reasons
other than for maximum thrust. Contours can be tailored to yield certain desired pressures or
pressure gradients to minimize flow separation at sea level. A nozzle contour designed to
produce parallel, uniform exit flow, thereby yielding 100 % geometric nozzle efficiency, is
called an ideal nozzle.
This ideal nozzle is extremely long and the high viscous drag and nozzle weight that results
are unacceptable. Some design approaches consider truncating ideal nozzles keeping in mind
the weight considerations. Most companies have a parabolic curve-fit program, generally
used to approximate optimum contours, which can also be used to generate desired nozzle
wall pressures. For nozzles at higher altitudes, vacuum performance is the overriding factor
relating to mission performance and high nozzle area ratio is therefore desirable. However,
nozzle over-expansion at sea level does result in a thrust loss because the wall pressure near
the nozzle exit is below ambient pressure. If the nozzles exit area could be reduced for launch
and then gradually increased during ascent, overall mission performance would be improved.
The ideal rocket engine would make use of a variable-geometry nozzle that adjusted contour,
area ratio and length to match the varying altitude conditions encountered during ascent. This
feature is referred to as Altitude Compensation.

4. BASIC PRINCIPLES

Aerospike nozzles can be described as inverted bell nozzles where the flow expands on the
outside of the nozzle instead of being completely constrained by the nozzle walls. compares
the flow at low (liftoff) and high (space) altitudes for both types. Unlike conventional bellshaped nozzles, which operate optimally at one particular altitude, plug nozzles allow the
flow expansion to self-adjust, thus improving thrust coefficients. This is particularly critical
for Single Stage-to-Orbit (SSTO) vehicles, which operate both in the atmosphere and in
vacuum. This improvement over conventional bell-shaped nozzles occurs at altitudes lower
than the design pressure ratio. At altitudes higher than the design altitude (or pressure ratio),
plug nozzles essentially operate similarly to bell nozzles. Many references discuss these
advantages8,9 as well as typical

flow characteristics on plug nozzles.10,11 The main

drawbacks associated with the aerospike nozzle are the often higher cooling requirements
because the throat

regions typically cover larger areas than for conventional bell

shapenozzles12 and the strong engine vehicle interactions. While the terms plug and spike
nozzles are interchangeable, some authors associate aerospike nozzles with truncated spike
nozzles with base bleed. In this paper, all three terms are used interchangeably. In addition to
these performance advantages over bell nozzles in atmospheric flight, plug nozzles may also
offer improved packaging, reduced cost and increased reliability for space engines.13 For
launch vehicles, both of conventional (cylindrical) type like typical expendable systems and
of other shapes such as the formerly proposed Venture Star, aerospike engines typically
cover the entire base of the vehicle, leading to a lighter structure for transferring the
propulsion loads to the rest of the vehicle along with reduced base drag.
The basic concept of any engine bell is to efficiently expand the flow of exhaust gases from
the rocket engine into one direction. The exhaust, a high-temperature mix of gases, has an
effectively random momentum distribution, and if it is allowed to escape in that form, only a
small part of the flow will be moving in the correct direction to contribute to forward thrust.

Figure: 1 Comparison between the design of a bell-nozzle rocket (left) and an aerospike
rocket (right)

Instead of firing the exhaust out of a small hole in the middle of a bell, an aerospike engine
avoids this random distribution by firing along the outside edge of a wedge-shaped
protrusion, the "spike". The spike forms one side of a virtual bell, with the other side being
formed by the outside airthus the "aerospike".
The idea behind the aerospike design is that at low altitude the ambient pressure compresses
the wake against the nozzle. The recirculation in the base zone of the wedge can then raise
the pressure there to near ambient. Since the pressure on top of the engine is ambient, this
means that the base gives no overall thrust (but it also means that this part of the nozzle
doesn't lose thrust by forming a partial vacuum, thus the base part of the nozzle can be
ignored at low altitude).
As the spacecraft climbs to higher altitudes, the air pressure holding the exhaust against the
spike decreases, but the pressure on top of the engine decreases at the same time, so this is
not detrimental. Further, although the base pressure drops, the recirculation zone keeps the
pressure on the base up to a fraction of 1 bar, a pressure that is not balanced by the near
vacuum on top of the engine; this difference in pressure gives extra thrust at altitude,
contributing to the altitude compensating effect. This produces an effect like that of a bell
that grows larger as air pressure falls, providing altitude compensation.
6

The disadvantages of aerospikes seem to be extra weight for the spike, and increased cooling
requirements due to the extra heated area. Furthermore, the larger cooled area can reduce
performance below theoretical levels by reducing the pressure against the nozzle. Also,
aerospikes work relatively poorly between Mach 1-3, where the airflow around the vehicle
has reduced pressure, and this reduces the thrust.

5. ROCKET NOZZLE THEORY

Rocket motor nozzles have typically represented the shape of a cone/conical (De Laval
Nozzle), or a bell shaped nozzle designed to the specific altitude. These nozzles suffer from
reduced efficiency at low and high altitude because of the difference between the pressure of
the exhaust gases and the ambient pressure of the atmosphere . At low altitudes, the exhaust
gases are lower in pressure than the atmospheric pressure. This causes the jet exhaust to
constrict and become separated from the nozzle walls reducing the amount of thrust
generated. This condition is known as over expansion as shown in Fig. 2a. When the exhaust
pressure is the same as the ambient pressure, a column shaped exhaust plume is formed. This
condition corresponds to thrust at maximum efficiency as shown in Fig. 2b. At high altitude,
the exhaust gases are at a higher pressure than ambient and continue to expand past the
nozzle exit as shown in Fig. 2c. Since additional expansion occurs outside of the nozzle, the
under-expanded exhaust plume results in thrust loss and lower nozzle efficiency. In a bell
nozzle combustion gases flow through a constriction (throat) and then the expansion away
from the centerline is contained by the diverging walls of the nozzle up to the exit plane.
Bells nozzles are a point design with optimum performance at one specific ambient pressure
(i.e., altitude). Careful design is needed to achieve desired high altitude performance while
avoiding flow separation at the walls of the nozzle near the exit when operating at low
altitudes (launch), which can lead to loss of performance and possible structural failure of the
nozzle due to dynamic loads [flow separation is responsible for the large nozzle motion on
the SSMEs during startup transient - watch closely during next launch]. Therefore a
compromise altitude must be used for the design point of a bell nozzle.

Figure 2. Bell nozzle behavior during flight

6. AEROSPIKE NOZZLE THEORY

An aerospike nozzle utilizes a similar principal for propulsion, except that the exhaust
remains attached to the center-body, also known as a plug or aerospike . Since the aerospike
has no outer walls, the pressure of the atmosphere (outer free jet boundary), causes the
exhaust gases to hug its outer surface. At low altitudes, high ambient pressure forces the
exhaust gases inward increasing the pressure on the spike as shown in Fig. 3a. At optimal
pressure (exhaust pressure equals ambient pressure), the flow becomes column shaped, much
like a bell nozzle, for maximum thrust efficiency as shown in Fig. 3b. When operating at low
ambient pressure, the flow is constrained by expansion and compression waves that direct the
exhaust axially to maintain the thrust force on the spike shown in Fig. 3c. Many believe that
this characteristic of aerospike nozzles is their ultimate strength, a concept called, altitude
compensation. Altitude compensation results from the fact that the outer plume boundary is
acted on by the ambient pressure of the atmosphere. A full aerospike nozzle has a full-length
conical or isentropic spike, where as a truncated aerospike nozzle has a truncated conical or
8

Figure 3 Annular Aerospike nozzle.

isentropic spike in which an "aerodynamic spike" is created from the re-circulating flow aft
of the flat nozzle base. Losses from truncating the aerospike can be offset by adding a
secondary gas flow(base bleed). This modification can help add pressure to the base portion
of the spike, therefore aiding in the overall thrust performance of the truncated aerospike. The
base bleed is found to be efficient when using only 0.3-3% of the total exhaust flow of the
nozzle according to past studies. In addition, the base region is open to high ambient
pressure resulting in a greater "base" thrust component. Experimental data on altitude
compensation using full and truncated aerospike nozzles collected by Rocketdyne.
According to theory, the full aerospike should meet or exceed the performance of the bell
nozzle at all altitudes due to the inherent characteristics of altitude compensation. In some
though, experimental data have shown that these predictions are not necessarily true for all
cases. There needs to be actual flight tests to evaluate both sets of data. On that note, there
are many potential sources of performance losses in the design of a practical
engine. In the design process of an aerospike nozzle, many shapes are considered. The most
common shapes of aerospike nozzles are annular/conical, annular/isentropic curve (ideal
shape), and linear versions of the plug, sometimes with truncation. Performance losses in a
conical nozzle instead of an isentropic aerospike can be than 1% for cone half-angles up to

30. The aerospike shape allows the exhaust gases to expand through an isentropic (constant
entropy) process. This process allows the nozzle efficiency to be maximized. Even though the
isentropic spike is the most efficient shape, it is realistically longer and weighs much more
than a conical nozzle. In summary, the advantages of aerospike nozzle altitude compensation
result in higher nozzle efficiency at all altitudes and a truncated aerospike can be far smaller
than a typical full aerospike and bell nozzle for nearly the same performance. In contrast, the
disadvantage of an aerospike nozzle is much greater heat flux than a typical
conical or bell nozzle. One of the solutions to this problem can be fixed by truncating the
spike to reduce the exposed area and to cool the aerospike by regenerative cooling. A base
bleed or that is, secondary flow, can also help reduce the temperatures of the spike with
increasing the performance of a truncated nozzle. The aerospike nozzle is more complex and
difficult to manufacture than the conical or bell nozzle. As a result, this can be more
costly. There have been very few aerospike flight tests in rocket or space applications.

Figure 4. Aerospike nozzle behavior during flight

5.1 WORKING PRINCIPLE OF AEROSPIKE NOZZLE

In an aerospike nozzle, ambient pressure places a limit on the expansion process and the
thrust loss associated with nozzle over-expansion does not materialize. Since ambient
pressure controls the nozzle expansion, the flow area at the end of the aerospike changes with
10

altitude. A key advantage of an aerospike is that a very high area ratio nozzle, which provides
high vacuum performance, can also be efficiently operated at sea level. The primary exhaust
can be seen expanding against the center body and then around the corner of the base region.
The interaction of this flow with the re-circulating base bleed creates an inner shear layer.
The outer boundary of the exhaust plume is free to expand to ambient pressure. Expansion
waves can be seen emanating from the thruster exit lip, and these waves reflect from the
centerbody contour to the free jet boundary. At low altitude, the free boundary remains close
to the nozzle causing the compression waves to reflect onto the center body and shear layer
themselves. The waves impacting the center body increase pressure on the surface, thereby
increasing the center body component of thrust. The waves impacting the shear layer, on the
other hand, increase the circulation of the base flow thereby increasing the base component
of thrust. Ideal behavior results from the fact that the outer plume boundary of the primary
flow is acted upon only by the ambient pressure of the atmosphere. From Aerospike thrust
characteristics the high ambient pressure at low altitudes forces the exhaust inward increasing
the pressure on the "centerbody" and the centerbody component of thrust. In addition, the
base region is open to high ambient pressure resulting in a greater "base" thrust component.
At design pressure, the flow becomes column shaped, much like a bell nozzle, for maximum
efficiency.

5.2 DESIGN OF AEROSPIKE NOZZLE

The design of spike contour of the aerospike nozzle is the most important step in the overall
design of the nozzle, which varies according to the operating conditions and application.
However the design procedure, including the basic physics behind the spike design remains
the same. The design of spike can be done using a simple approximate method or Raos
method based on calculus of variation. The simple approximate method assumes a series of
centered isentropic expansion waves occurring at cowl lip of the spike nozzle. Using this
method the annular spike contour for a given pressure ratio, area at throat, and ratio of
specific heats can be determined.

11

5.3 AEROSPIKE NOZZLE ANALYSIS

The aerospike nozzle uses an annular/ toroidal and full conical spike configuration. The
geometry and design of the nozzle is based off of the identical throat areas for the conical
nozzle that came with the hybrid rocket motor. This was done in order for the experimental
data to be comparable in both nozzle systems. One of the most important parameters in
rocket nozzle design is the expansion area ratio.
In previous designs, other academic and industry groups used aerospike nozzles with a center
shaft from the main injector bulkhead down to the aft end of the combustion chamber that
supported the spike. Previous results have had design issues with the central graphite shaft
fracturing and leading to catastrophic rocket motor failures. Different methods of
modifications were used to compensate for this problem. UCLSB incorporated a solid
metallic alloy rod down the center of the graphite spike for their bipropellant aerospike
rocket motor. Boston University used a steel rod with a solid fuel grain molded around the
support shaft for their solid propellant aerospike rocket motor. Both methods proved too
heavy in material and added unnecessary weight to the rocket motor. Two different aerospike
nozzle designs are being considered in this investigation. Both nozzles incorporate a short
compact version of the aerospike, eliminating the need for a central support shaft for the
spike. Coincidentally, both aerospike nozzle designs had ported heads into an aft mixing
chamber. Both aerospike nozzles had 8 ports (flow passages) with a total area greater than the
choked exit area. The post mixing chamber not only eliminates the need for the support shaft,
but it also aid in the mixing process of the oxidizer and fuel grain before expulsion of the
exhaust gases for improved thrust efficiency. The full aerospike design was fabricated from
mild steel (1018). The aerospike nozzle also had a greater mixing chamber total volume. The
steel aerospike nozzle had countersunk flow passages to improve oxidizer turbulence and
flow. The graphite aerospike nozzle also had a similar feature where the entire head end of
the graphite aerospike nozzle was ramped towards the center axis.

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7. ALTITUDE COMPENSATION

To begin our discussion of altitude compensation, we must first understand how a traditional
bell nozzle functions as it operates from sea level to high altitude, as illustrated below. As
discussed in the above figure, bell nozzles suffer from reduced efficiency at low and high
altitude because of the difference between the pressure of the exhaust gases and the ambient
pressure of the atmosphere. At low altitudes, the exhaust pressure is too low, and the higher
atmospheric pressure pushes the exhaust inward. This inequality causes the exhaust to
become separated from the nozzle walls reducing the amount of thrust generated. This
condition is known as overexpansion. At high altitude, the bell nozzle suffers from the
reverse problem.

Figure 5. Bell nozzle behavior during flight

Here, the exhaust pressure is much higher than the ambient pressure causing the exhaust to
continue to expand past the nozzle exit. Since the additional expansion occurs outside of the
nozzle, that expansion does not exert thrust on the nozzle, so that thrust is lost. This condition
is known as under expansion. At the optimum altitude, for which the nozzle is tailored during

13

the design process, the exit pressure equals the ambient pressure. Note in the above figure
that the exhaust plume becomes column shaped indicating that the exhaust is perfectly
expanded thereby maximizing efficiency and thrust. Thus, both overexpansion and
underexpansion reduce overall engine efficiency and thrust. If we could somehow minimize
the exit area at launch and increase it as the rocket ascends, we could optimize the nozzle for
each altitude and maximize the thrust. Such a nozzle, would markedly improve overall
performance. An ideal nozzle would be able to continually adjust its contour, area ratio, and
length to maximize thrust at each altitude (see the figure below), a concept known as altitude
compensation. However, a bell nozzle that continually changes its geometry is clearly not
practical, and the designer must instead make a series of tradeoffs in selecting the area ratio
of a nozzle. The following graph gives some idea of the issues the designer must consider.

Figure 6. Ideal nozzle that continually adjusts its geometry as altitude increases

14

Figure 7. Fixed area ratio and continuously variable area ratio nozzles.
The ideal nozzle, indicated by the thick solid line, represents the maximum performance
possible. At low altitudes, we want a small area ratio, meaning the exit area is small, to
minimize overexpansion. However, the graph shows that we will pay for this excellent
performance at low altitude with underexpansion at high altitude resulting in large thrust
losses. The converse is true of a high area ratio--high altitude performance is maximized at
the expense of overexpansion and poor efficiency at low altitude. While altitude
compensation is certainly desirable in any rocket application, this adaptive quality is a virtual
necessity in any Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO) vehicle, like the X-33. Some believe that a
reasonably sized payload simply cannot be carried from sea-level to orbit in a one-staged
vehicle with current engine technology. Numerous methods of incorporating altitude
compensation have been tried. Examples include extendible nozzles that "grow" through
flight, "aspirated" nozzles in which ram air is injected into the nozzle to fill the exit and keep
flow attached, and a step along the nozzle wall that prevents the flow from overexpanding at
low altitude.
However, many claim that the ultimate strength of the aerospike nozzle is its inherent altitude
compensation capability, as shown below.
15

Figure 8. Aerospike nozzle behavior during flight.

This ideal behavior results from the fact that the outer plume boundary of the primary flow is
acted upon only by the ambient pressure of the atmosphere. Recall from our discussion of
aerospike thrust characteristics, high ambient pressure at low altitudes forces the exhaust
inward increasing the pressure on the "centerbody" and the centerbody component of thrust.
In addition, the base region is open to high ambient pressure resulting in a greater "base"
thrust component. At design pressure, the flow becomes column shaped, much like a bell
nozzle, for maximum efficiency. When operating at low ambient pressure (at high altitude or
in a vacuum), the flow is constrained by expansion/compression waves that direct the exhaust
axially to maintain the thrust force on the centerbody. At low pressures, however, the nozzle
operates in a closed wake state. Since the base is not subject to a high ambient pressure,
there is no altitude compensation benefit, and the aerospike behaves like a high area ratio bell
nozzle. Thus, in theory at least, the aerospike nozzle meets or exceeds the performance of the
bell nozzle at all operating pressures.

8. BACKGROUND AND RELATED SEARCH

16

The X-33 is being developed under a cooperative agreement between NASA and Lockheed
Martin, which began July 2, 1996. It is a subscale technology demonstrator prototype of a
RLV which Lockheed Martin has named "Venture Star," and which the company hopes to
develop. Through demonstration flights and ground research, the X-33 will provide
information needed to decide whether to proceed to the development of a full-scale,
commercial RLV.
Lockheed Martin plans to conduct up to 15 flight tests of the X-33. These tests will originate
from Edwards Air Force Base, Edwards, Calif., and fly to Michael Army Air Field at Dug
way Proving Ground, Utah, and later to Malmstrom Air Force Base, Great Falls, Mont.
NASA engineers at the Marshall Center have conducted a number of tests for the linear
aerospike engine. In the spring of 1997, Marshall Center conducted tests of three hydrogencooled thrusters, or thrust cells, mounted side by side and attached to a 4-foot-long copper
alloy ramp. The test series collected data on cell-to-cell plume interaction, cell-to-cell feed
system interaction and heating. Marshall Engineers followed the thrust cell tests with tests
the same year on aerospike ignition and gas generator systems.
In 1997, NASA and Lockheed Martin tested a 5-percent scale model of the lifting
body/aerospike configuration in the supersonic wind tunnels at the Air Force's Arnold
Engineering Development Center near Tullahoma, Tenn. The wind-tunnel tests were aimed at
characterizing the interaction between the aerospike engine exhaust and the lifting body's
aerodynamic behavior. Engine flight qualification testing began in 1998 at NASA's Stennis
Space Center in Mississippi. By the spring of 2000, the first aerospike engine had been
successfully operated at full power and exceeded the expected operating time that it will
experience in test flights from California to Utah.
The first aerospike engine for the X-33 program successfully completed 14 planned hot fire
tests in the spring of 2000, accumulating more than 1,460 seconds of total operating time. In
addition, engineers have successfully demonstrated the aerospike engines ability to vary its
thrust from side to side and top to bottom. This capability to vary its thrust -- called
differential throttling -- will be used to control the X-33s direction of flight.
17

The test stand at Stennis was upgraded in the fall of 2000 to accommodate testing of two
engines side-by-side, as they will be installed in the X-33. The dual-engine configuration is
scheduled to begin testing in 2001.

9. AEROSPIKE ENGINE EFFICIENCY

The key to a conventional bell nozzle's level of performance is its width. At high pressure -i.e. sea level -- the gasses are more tightly focused, so a bell nozzle with a narrow interior
surface works best. At low pressure -- i.e. higher altitudes -- a wider interior works best as the
gasses will expand farther. For example, the initial stage of the Saturn rocket which carried
the Apollo astronauts to the Moon featured a narrow nozzle to produce an ideal straightedged column of exhaust at sea level. However, the command module which orbited the
Moon featured a much wider bell nozzle better suited for controlling the combustion gasses
in the vacuum of space. Since the width of the bell nozzles can't change to match the
atmospheric pressure as the rocket climbs, bell nozzles are normally designed to provide
optimum performance at one certain altitude or pressure. This is called a "point design," and
engineers accept the performance loss the nozzle will encounter at any altitude other than the
one it was designed for. The aerospike eliminates this loss of performance. Since the
combustion gasses only are constrained on one side by a fixed surface -- the ramp -- and
constrained on the other side by atmospheric pressure, the aerospike's plume can widen with
the decreasing atmospheric pressure as the vehicle climbs, thus maintaining more efficient
thrust throughout the vehicle's flight.
However, the aerospike engine's ramp is cut short to save weight, since the amount of thrust
contributed by the end of the ramp is small compared to its weight. Designers compensate for
this by pumping secondary exhaust from the aerospike's gas generator into the base region to
add to the atmospheric pressure and elongate the wake.

18

10. ADVANTAGES

SMALLER NOZZLE:
Shortened nozzle length for the same performance, or increased performance (higher
expansion area rations) for a given length.

SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE:
Improved performance at sea level or low altitudes. (Annular nozzles with high expansion
area ratios can be used for a single-stage sea level to vacuum vehicle mission.)

STAGNANT REGION IN NOZZLE CENTER:

The relatively stagnant region in the center of the nozzle can possibly be used for installation
of gas generators, turbopumps, tanks, auxiliary equipment, and turbine gas discharges.

MODULAR COMBUSTION CHAMBER:

A segmented combustion chamber design approach can be used, easing development effort
(individual segments can be built and tested during the early phases) and improving
combustion stability.

LESS RISK OF FAILURE:

The lower chamber pressure reduces risk of explosion.

LOWER DRAG:
The vehicles with aerospike engine have lower vehicle drag.

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THRUST VECTORING:

Due to combustion chamber control, the vehicle is maneuvered using differential thrust
vectoring. This eliminates the need of heavy gimbals and actuators used to vary the direction
of traditional nozzles.

LOWER WEIGHT:
Vehicle with aerospike nozzles having less weight than a vehicle with plug area nozzles.

11. DISADVANTAGES

Relatively high cooling requirements, because of higher heat fluxes and greater

surface areas to be cooled.

Heavier structural construction in some applications.

Manufacturing difficulties.
Increase in Production cost.

12. FUTURE SCOPE

The simplicity of the aerospike design coupled with its altitude compensating properties
makes it the best option in aerospace applications. With some more research done into these
nozzles it can be seen as a means of propulsion for reusable vehicles in near decade.

20

13. CONCLUSION
This independent study was successful in carrying out hybrid rocket motor tests with
an aerospike nozzle. We were able to test the design of a compact aerospike nozzle
without a center support shaft through the combustion chamber and supported at the
main injector as done by other university and private studies. The aerospike nozzle
was proven to be compatible with a hybrid propulsion system and ignition was
successfully achieved. The plume displayed typical Prandtl-Meyer expansion waves
and Mach/shock diamonds with over expansion at near sea level conditions. No
motors catastrophically failed and data were collected for the next phase of analysis.
The CD nozzle works best only for the particular designed altitude whereas Aerospike
nozzle maintains its efficiency for the changes in the altitude.The results obtained
from CFD analysis will be compared with theoretical and experimental values thus
accomplishing the validation of the code. The aerospike rocket engines are also a
brand new technology. NASA has spent over $500 million for developing these
engines. The risk of failure as well is less, hence aerospike engine is an effective
solution loping program. It can be concluded that aerospike engine is a solution to the
loses in efficiency.

21

REFERENCE

[1] Erich Besnard, Hsun Hu Chen, Ton Mueller, Design Manufacturing and test of a plug
rocket nozzle, Mechanical and Aerospace engineering department, California State
University, Long Beach.
[2] J.J, Korte, Parametric Model of an Aerospike Rocket Engine, NASA Langley Research
Centre, Hampton, Virginia.
[3] Klaus W.Gross, Performance Analysis Of Aerospike Rocket Engines.
[4] Brandon Lee Denton, Design And Analysis of Rocket Nozzle Contours For Launching
Pico-Satellites, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kate Gleason College Of
Engineering, Rochester Institute Of Technology, NY.
[5] Maciej Matyka, Prandtl-Meyer Expansion Wave, Computational Physics Section of
Theoretical Physics, University of Wroclaw.
[6] John Cipolla, AeroRocket and Warpmetrics http://aerorocket.com/MOC/MOC.html
[7] Chang Hui Wang, Yu Liu, Li-Zi Qin, Aerospike Nozzle Contour Design and Its
Performance Validation, Beijing University Of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Beijing.

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