Abstract

Rocket combustion chambers experience extremely high temperatures exceeding 3,000 K during operation. Effective thermal management is essential for engine reliability and mission success.

Objectives
Analyze combustion chamber temperature distribution.
Evaluate regenerative cooling effectiveness.
Predict thermal stress.
Optimize cooling channel design.
Methodology

A regenerative cooling model was developed using ANSYS Fluent. Heat transfer simulations incorporated liquid hydrogen cooling channels with conjugate heat transfer analysis. Material properties for Inconel alloys were included.

Results

Temperature distribution remained within allowable design limits using optimized cooling channels. Peak wall temperatures decreased by nearly 18% compared to conventional chamber designs.

Findings
Regenerative cooling significantly improves engine life.
Cooling channel geometry affects heat removal efficiency.
Thermal stresses decrease with optimized coolant flow.
CFD accurately predicts chamber temperature profiles.
Conclusion

Advanced thermal simulations allow propulsion engineers to improve rocket engine durability while reducing expensive experimental testing during development.