Development of a Damageable Numerical Engine Cooling System for Resilient Aerospike Rockets

The role of a resilient aerospike rocket engine system, including both propulsion and thermal management systems, is to ensure mission success during nominal and emergency operations for long-term space explorations. In the event of planetary landings under unexpected atmospheric and terrain conditions, thrust levels and throttle responses should be adapted to perform critical maneuvers, even with damaged components. Abnormal flight conditions can drastically impact component performance, leading to cascading damage effects across the entire system. To understand the effects of degrading components on other critical elements, it is necessary to conduct system-level analyses. While existing research has optimized regenerative cooling systems for rocket engines under steady-state, or during normal engine operations, a critical gap remains in analyzing system-level interactions with damaged components during abnormal conditions. To address this gap, this paper introduces a multi-physics system-level numerical model of the thermal management system of the aerospike rocket. First, a literature review of the state-of-the-art in aerospike engines is conducted to identify baseline requirements and establish the design operating conditions. Subsequently, system behaviors are evaluated with the introduced model, under both normal and abnormal conditions, to investigate potential reliable engine cooling system designs. The proposed model is validated with experimental data under nominal conditions. With this validated model, simulation cases are extended to abnormal conditions causing component level damages. Focus of the analyses is placed on investigating the impact of these degraded components, and throttling operations in adverse scenarios on the performance of the aerospike nozzle's cooling system. This paper provides a baseline for further studies aimed at enhancing the robustness and resilience of the aerospike’s thermal management system.