Solar Radiation Thruster Performance Analysis With Energy Storage in Porous Material

Abstract

The objective of this study is to develop analytical codes to support the design effort of the Shooting Star Flight Experiment’s rocket engine. Numerical models can augment the design effort by providing insight into fluid dynamics issues. Then, the design team can utilize the developed code to assess the design parameters and the engine performance as well as other issues related to thermal propulsion. The physical models developed in this study are: (a) a radiation model based on a GRASP code for general multi-block curvilinear coordinates and with a time accurate Crank-Nicholson marching scheme for heat conduction to model the absorber component of the engine; and (b) a fluid dynamics computational model using the Navier-Stokes equations, porosity factors and drag forces terms for simple one-dimensional simulations to complete three-dimensional modeling of the Shooting Star Engine internal flows.