Numerical Study of Facility Pressure Effects on Micronozzles for Space Propulsion

What is it about?

This study utilized the direct simulation Monte Carlo method to assess the impact of facility pressure on micronozzles in microspacecraft propulsion systems. By simulating nozzle flows up to a throat Reynolds number of 220, it was found that increasing background pressure significantly reduced thrust by over 50% as the nozzle pressure ratio decreased. The loss in thrust was primarily due to gas depletion from interactions between the nozzle plume and surrounding gas, highlighting the importance of test conditions for accurate performance prediction of micronozzles.

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