46th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit AIAA 2010-6784

25 - 28 July 2010, Nashville, TN

Experimental Performance Analysis of a Toroidal Aerospike

Nozzle Integrated with a N2O/HTPB Hybrid Rocket Motor

Steven C. Shark*, Jacob D. Dennis, and James K. Villarreal

Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287

An aerospike nozzle has the ability to perfectly expand the combustion gas to ambient
conditions at all altitudes maximizing the efficiency of the nozzle and increasing the
performance of the overall system. However, one of the inherent problems with this type of
nozzle is the large amount of heat transferred to vital components due to its complex
geometry, which could cause performance degradation or even nozzle failure. An aerospike
nozzle design was developed that incorporates graphite inserts at the nozzle throat which
reduces substantial material erosion at vital areas of the nozzle. This design was integrated
with a custom hybrid rocket motor utilizing nitrous oxide and hydroxyl-terminated
polybutadiene (HTPB) providing an excellent reusable test bed producing increased
performance over that of a solid rocket motor. The unique integration between the hybrid
and the aerospike provides a high performance rocket propulsion system capable of
consistent experimental testing. A series of hot fire static tests were conducted in order to
demonstrate that the aerospike nozzle can not only withstand the intense combustion gas
temperatures, but furthermore yield a design that has higher efficiency over a range of
design altitudes in comparison to a standard bell nozzle with fixed expansion ratio geometry.
The aerospike nozzle was able to outperform an over-expanded bell nozzle by 6.4%, and
perform within 0.9% of a perfectly expanded nozzle based on each nozzles C F. These tests
prove that utilization of an aerospike nozzle has the potential to substantially increase the
range or payload capabilities of modern launch vehicles or rockets.

Nomenclature
a = burn rate coefficient Me = exit mach number
Ae = nozzle exit area mp = mass of propellant
A* = nozzle throat area n = burn rate exponent
CF = thrust coefficient O/F = oxidizer to fuel ratio
C* = characteristic velocity P = static pressure
= expansion ratio Pa = ambient air pressure
F = thrust force Pe = nozzle exit pressure
= ratio of specific heats Po = combustion/stagnation pressure
go = gravitational constant tb = burn time
I = total impulse Te = nozzle exit temperature
Isp = specific impulse = nozzle contour inclination angle
= mass flow rate To = combustion/stagnation temperature

I. Introduction

T he development of future launch systems and space vehicles has turned to increased efficiency and sustainability.
These trends have shifted the focus of rocket propulsion research to increasing performance while maintaining if
not improving safety and reliability. This is especially true for launch vehicle designs which will need to carry
manned and unmanned payloads to space with lower resource costs, reduced materials and funding than current

*
Graduate Student, School of Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical and Materials Engineering, Mail Stop 6106. AIAA
Student Member.

Graduate Student, School of Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical and Materials Engineering, Mail Stop 6106. AIAA
Student Member.

PhD Candidate, School of Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical and Materials Engineering, Mail Stop 6106. AIAA
Student Member.
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Copyright 2010 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.
systems. The aerospace industry is constantly trying to obtain peak performance and efficiency, but requires
supreme safety above all. Radical technological ideas must be explored that can break free of the conventional
rocket technology set forth by the 1950's era of intercontinental ballistic missiles and meet the increasingly
demanding goals of the future.
Traditionally, virtually all chemical rocket propulsion systems make use of a conventional bell shaped
converging-diverging nozzle. By expanding combustion gas though a nozzle kinetic energy can be converted into
usable thrust.1 This thrust is used to counter act the forces acting on the flight vehicle, such as gravity and drag, as it
is propelled through the atmosphere and/or into space. Although this type of nozzle's operation has a long historical
heritage it lacks the ability to adjust for varying atmospheric pressure at different altitudes which hinders the
propulsion system's efficiency. The pressure at which the combustion gas is expanded through the nozzle is limited
by the expansion ratio (), or the ratio between the cross sectional nozzle exit area and throat area. This ratio is set
by the specific internal contour of the converging-diverging shaped nozzle. This is an issue because the difference
between the nozzle exit pressure and the ambient air pressure directly affects the performance of the nozzle.
An aerospike or plug nozzle has the unique ability to continuously compensate for varying ambient pressure
as the vehicle ascends through the atmosphere. This is accomplished by allowing the ambient air pressure to act as
the outer boundary of the diverging section of the nozzle, and utilizes a solid central body to act as the inner
boundary, which is usually in the shape of an axisymmetric or planar spike. 2 This geometry directly expands the
exhaust gas to ambient pressure from the nozzle throat onward allowing the expansion ratio to optimally adjust as
the ambient pressure changes. This type of operation gives the aerospike nozzle the ability to perfectly expand the
combustion gas to any given ambient pressure, thereby having improved efficiency over the standard bell nozzle for
a range of altitudes.

A. Aerospike Nozzle Operation

The aerospike nozzle's altitude compensation feature occurs by
utilization of the natural expansion process that develops between
the exhaust gas and the ambient atmosphere. A schematic of this
process can be seen in Fig. 1 At a specific design nozzle pressure
ratio (NPR), which corresponds to the ratio between the
combustion chamber gas pressure and ambient pressure, the
aerospike should theoretically perfectly expand the exhaust gas
with zero flow losses, as seen in the center diagram of Fig. 1. The
shear layer separating the exhaust gas and the ambient atmosphere
at this pressure ratio should theoretically be parallel to the axis of
the nozzle. If the chamber pressure is kept constant and the
ambient pressure is increased, thereby decreasing the NPR, a
series of expansion and shock waves form between the central
body and the shear layer. This is represented in the top diagram in
Fig. 1. This would correspond to a low altitude situation for the
nozzle. This expansion and recompression process allows the
combustion gas to be perfectly expanded to the ambient
conditions. As the ambient pressure is decreased the NPR
increases, the plume then widens and the expansion and shock
waves move farther down the central spike. The adapting plume
adjusts the effective expansion ratio of the aerospike nozzle as the
NPR varies. As the ambient pressure is reduced further the
effective expansion ratio optimally increases.3 As the nozzle
approaches the design NPR the expansion and recompression
waves form along the entire length of the spike because the
effective expansion ratio is fairly large. Once the design NPR is
reached the expansion and shock waves dissipate forming a perfect
expansion with theoretically zero flow losses due to Figure 1. Aerospike nozzle expansion process.3
compressibility. It should be noted that for all practical purposes
this is an instantaneous condition.
Once the design NPR is exceeded, the exhaust gas pressure is larger than the ambient pressure and the nozzle is
in an under-expanded state. In this situation the nozzle plume bows outward and an expansion fan forms off the edge
of the nozzle in order to expand the exhaust gas to the proper pressure from the under-expanded state.2 Since the
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exhaust gas is being expanded rapidly to such a high velocity a strong shock forms to compensate for the larger
pressure gradient between the ambient air and exhaust gas. At this point the altitude compensation feature of the
aerospike nozzle is lost and it acts as a fixed area ratio nozzle while the NPR is above the design condition.
The thrust produced by a toroidal aerospike nozzle, assuming perfect expansion, is represented in Eq. 1, where
the first term represents the momentum imparted from the ejected gas and the second term represents the pressure
force acting on the central body surface area.1 This second term is usually small in comparison to the first and hard
to measure experimentally, so normally it is neglected.
= + (1)

B. Background
Aerospike nozzles fall under the category of altitude compensating or adaptive nozzles, which as the name
implies have the ability to adjust for varying atmospheric pressure as the rocket or launch vehicle is propelled
through different altitude levels in the atmosphere. Research in the field of altitude compensating nozzles, including
aerospike nozzles, has been conducted since the 1950's, both in computational simulations and experimental testing.3
Numerous analyses on numerical flow field simulations have been conducted on aerospike nozzles, showing
good correlation with the theoretical flow behavior at different ratios of the chamber to ambient pressures. Such
simulations have focused on the shear layer interaction for static and flight configurations. 4,5
A multitude of cold flow tests have also been conducted. Most test cases show that with a properly contoured
spike there is no exhaust flow separation if the pressure ratio is high enough.6 These tests usually show good
agreement with the numerical simulations as well. The missing link between the numerical simulations and the
experimental testing is the lack of hot fire and flight test data. There have only been a small hand full of hot fire tests
conducted with aerospike nozzles, and even fewer flight tests.
One of the best documented examples of both static and flight testing was that carried out recently by NASA in
2005 seen in Ref. 7. In this test case a fight test rocket was designed utilizing a solid rocket motor for propulsion,
and had the ability to exchange the types of nozzles it utilized to expand the combustion gas. This allowed the
testing of the multiple nozzle configurations on the same test bed. The purpose was to launch the same rocket
repeatedly and only change the nozzle. An aerospike and conventional conical nozzle were tested in order to give
insight into the performance comparisons between the two types of nozzles. Both aerospike and conical nozzles had
the same exit areas and area ratios for comparable performance values. 7 Static ground testing was first carried out as
proof of design and used as static performance comparisons. In one run the results showed improved efficiency over
the standard bell nozzle by 1% . One flight test proved to be slightly erroneous, showing the aerospike to exceed
100% efficiency. It was concluded that this was due to material erosion and expansion at the nozzle throat.7
Aerospike nozzles have inherent problems due to the large amounts of heat transfer and thermal stress that occur
during operation, as seen in the flight test results mentioned above. This is due to the large surface area of the nozzle
that is in contact with the combustion gas as it is expelled, increasing the amount of heat being directly transferred to
the nozzle. This can cause material failure and erosion. There are especially large concerns with the nozzle throat
since this region has the most exposed surface area. The distance between the throat and the cowling is considerably
small in comparison to a conventional bell nozzle's throat diameter, so there is a greater impact on the expansion
ratio as material degrades. This reduces the chamber pressure and thus efficiency, directly reducing the Isp. The heat
flux and erosion is extremely large in this section of the nozzle. This is one of the primary concerns with aerospike
nozzles in general, and has been one of the limiting factors in their testing and development.
The combination of a hybrid rocket motor propulsion system and aerospike nozzle has had minimal test cases.
The study conducted in Ref. 8 investigated the integration of an aerospike nozzle with a hybrid rocket motor. An
aerospike nozzle with a conical diverging section was integrated into a commercial hybrid rocket motor utilizing
N2O as the oxidizer and PVC as the fuel. This independent study showed that this was a viable type of propulsion
system. The aerospike nozzle was able to withstand the chamber temperature and pressure seen during motor
operation, and was able to produce performance levels comparable to that of a standard conical nozzle. However this
study did not investigate direct experimental comparisons between the aerospike and a standard converging-
diverging bell nozzle.

C. Project Goal
The main purpose of this research project was to design an aerospike nozzle that could withstand the heat
transferred from the combustion gas within acceptable levels, and then integrate that design with a hybrid rocket
motor utilizing N2O and HTPB as the oxidizer and fuel respectively. Through prototype development and
confidence testing the design could be deemed viable. Performance comparisons could then be made to bell nozzles
utilized by the same system. An aerospike nozzle design that can mitigate nozzle degradation and prevent failure
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while being subjected to hot combustion gases allows further progression into the field of hot fire testing of such
nozzles. Furthermore, direct performance comparisons of this nature have never before been conducted with this
type of system, and give great insight into aerospike nozzle operation in hot fire systems. The tests carried out in this
research lay down the steps for future aerospike nozzle designs and further performance testing, including flight
testing. It is hoped that information presented in this report will open a window for future nozzle designs and testing.

II. Design Overview

The purpose of the hybrid/aerospike rocket motor design was to create an operational hot fire aerospike that
could mitigate degradation due to the heat transfer to vital components in the nozzle, while being utilized by a
consistent and repeatable test bed propulsion system. The design specifications were as followed:
Interchangeable graphite inserts at the nozzle throat.
Ability to easily interchange between aerospike and bell nozzles on the hybrid rocket motor.
Produce high enough thrust levels for a flight ready model.
Altitude compensation feature operational within flight envelope of any future sounding rocket designs.

A. Initial Nozzle Sizing

An ideal aerospike nozzle is initially designed in the same manner as a conventional nozzle. Known propulsion
system characteristics and specifications are utilized to find the parameters that nozzle design is structured upon.
This includes the known properties of the propellant chemical makeup, parameters of the combustion system, and
mission profile information such as the target design altitude.
The hybrid rocket motor that utilized the aerospike nozzle was designed as a static test motor capable of
producing enough thrust for a flight ready model, but able to withstand large chamber pressures that might be
experienced during unforeseen experimental circumstances, such as rapid grain regression or nozzle blockage which
may cause over pressurization. By use of historical data and the propellant simulation software ProPEP, the
theoretical combustion parameters could be found and are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Theoretical Hybrid Rocket Motor Combustion Gas Properties
TO [K] 3301

PO [MPa] 3.477

1.244

R [J/kg-K] 320

a 0.1296

n 0.778

Te 1252

F [N] 1058.58

O/F 6.5

Using the nozzle pressure ratio (NPR) between the combustion chamber and the ambient pressures at the design
altitude, the design exit Mach number was calculated using Eq. 2.1 This could then be used to find the theoretical
design expansion ratio of the nozzle using Eq. 3. 1

1
2
= 1 (2)
1

+1
1 2 1 1
= 1+ 2 (3)
+1 2

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 The expansion ratio could then be used to calculate the throat area based on a given exit area. For the aerospike
nozzle the exit area is considered the cross sectional area pertaining to the diameter of the nozzle cowling from lip to
lip since at the design pressure ratio the exhaust gas theoretically flows perpendicular to this plane and parallel to the
nozzle's axis due to the orientation of the shear layer. The aerospike nozzle design parameters can be seen in Table
2.
Table 2: Aeropsike Nozzle Design Parameters
NPR 114.5

Me 3.56

11.74

Ae [cm2] 31.675

A* [cm2] 2.698

The aerospike nozzle design used for this research can

Figure 2. Toroidal aerospike nozzle design. 2
Figure 3. Assembled aerospike nozzle hardware.
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be seen in Fig. 2. This design consists of three main parts
with multiple sub-sections making up the entire nozzle. The
main piece is the central body, which consists of a conical
converging section and an isentropic diverging contour
from the throat onward, which is in the shape of a spike.
The central body is connected to a ported inlet at the
beginning of the converging section, which acts as a
support structure.9
A graphite cowling acts as the outer edge of the nozzle
throat by directing combustion gas directly onto the
beginning of the isentropic contour of the spike. This piece
also encloses the converging section of the spike. These two
parts seat inside a housing that provides support and
attaches the nozzle to the aft end of the combustion
chamber for integration with the hybrid rocket motor. The
throat is one of the most vital sections for the operation of
the nozzle. It also happens to be the piece that is most
affected by the heat flux from the combustion gas. In order
to reduce the thermal effects seen at the throat a portion of
the central body located at this section is made of graphite.
This, coupled with the graphite cowling, eliminates the
degradation or failure of the otherwise metallic pieces at the
throat. The rest of the central body is steel and provides
structural support for the entire central body. If this section
is comprised entirely of graphite the thermal failure modes
would be eliminated, but would raise the likelihood of
structural failure due to the brittleness of graphite.9
The aerospike nozzle was manufactured in the MACME
student machine shop at Arizona State University. The fully
assembled nozzle hardware can be seen in Fig. 3. The
nozzle housing was made from 6061-T6 aluminum. The
cruciform inlet, and metallic portions of the central body
were consisted of ASIS 1000 series steel. The central body
insert and the cowling were manufactured from superfine
isomold graphite. Note that the central body and cruciform
inlet are held together by a hardened steel bolt, as seen in
the left frames of Fig. 3. This entire assembly attaches to
the hybrid rocket motor via the threaded nozzle assembly.
 III. Test Apparatus and Setup

A. Test Apparatus
The following items were used as part of the testing apparatus and acquisition of test data:
Donut load cell; Futek Model: LTH500
Pressure transducer; Omega PX309-2KG5V
Data acquisition system (DAQ); DATAQ DI-718B
Custom built test stand
Custom built motor test cap
Digital scale; NSF Model:SK-20K
Ox tank; Nitrous Express 4.536 [kg] $N_2O$ Tank
Air-driven ball valve; McMaster PN: 6278K83
Solenoid valve; NOS Big Shot 12VDC 30Amp Auto
Oxidizer feed lines x2
In-line gauge
Heater; Bionaire BH3699-U7
Power supply; BK Precision 1670A

The test stand was designed and built by

members of Daedalus Astronautics at ASU. There
are two brackets supported by rods connected to the
test stand that hold the rocket motor to be tested
forward end down in the stand. The brackets have
adjustment bolts to accommodate a variety of
different size motors including the hybrid rocket
motor used in this research. A motor test cap
positions the front of the motor on top of the load
cell used to measure thrust force and allows the
pressure transducer that measures chamber pressure
to stay installed in the forward end-closure of the
motor. Figure 4 shows the hybrid rocket motor
Figure 4. Hybrid Rocket Motor Utilizing the Aerospike Nozzle installed in the test stand utilizing the aerospike
Installed in Test Stand. nozzle.
Fig. 5 shows the standard test setup for the hybrid
rocket motor. This image shows the aerospike nozzle
installed on the motor, but the exact same setup was
used for the bell nozzles as well.
In order to set the oxidizer tank pressure to a
specific value, a heater was used to raise the
temperature of the tank under close supervision until
the desired pressure was reached. The oxidizer tank
was then set on a digital scale prior to each test and
connected via a gas line to an air-driven valve that
was connected to the forward end-closure of the
motor. The ignition switch was connected to the
control box by a CAT-5 cable from approximately a
distance of 91.44 [m] (300 ft) away. The control box
was connected to an igniter via a two strand wire that
was ran through the forward-end closure. The igniter
sits within an initiator which consists of a small piece
of solid rocket motor propellant. This was used to
Figure 5. Hybrid Rocket Motor Test Setup. begin the burning and preheating of the fuel grain.
Once a substantial flame front was seen protruding
from the nozzle the air-driven valve was opened beginning the oxidizer flow from the tank, and injected into the pre-
combustion chamber.
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 Thrust force was measured by a 8896.44 [N] (2000 [lbf]) rated load cell with a 2 [mV/V] nominal output. The
accuracy of the load cell is +/- 0.15% including non-linearity, hysteresis, non-repeatability. The pressure data was
measured by use of a 13.790 [MPa] (2000 [psi]) rated pressure transducer with a 0-5 [V] output. The pressure
transducer had an accuracy of 0.25% including non-linearity, hysteresis, non-repeatability. The data acquisition
system had a sampling rate of 1.042 [ms], and consisted of a 14-bit analog to digital converted.

IV. Results and Discussion

A. Experimental Results
Initial prototype and confidence testing was conducted in order to validate the hybrid rocket motor and aerospike
nozzle design. These tests verified that the aerospike nozzle could be properly integrated with the hybrid rocket
motor and withstand the intense heat seen from the combustion gas during motor operation. Following the design
validation tests, performance tests could be carried out in order to prove the aeorspike nozzles altitude
compensating feature and compare its performance to that of conventional bell nozzles of various expansion ratios.
The testing designations along with the information regarding nozzle type, and ambient pressure conditions are
shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Performance Test Information

Test No. Nozzle A* [cm2] Theo. Pa [MPa]

Perf. 1 Perfect 2.698 5.04 0.571 0.0961

Perf. 2 Perfect 2.698 5.04 0.607 0.0973

Perf. 3 Perfect 2.698 5.04 0.666 0.0965

Perf. 4 Over 2.698 11.74 0.570 0.0961

Perf. 5 Over 2.698 11.74 - 0.0974

Perf. 6 Aero 3.986 6.05 0.633 0.0961

Perf. 7 Aero 2.698 11.74 0.655 0.0966

Perf. 8 Aero 2.698 11.74 0.662 0.0966

The results for the perfectly expanded isentropic nozzle are as follows. Images from the first performance test
can be seen in Fig. 6. The thrust and pressure histograms can be seen in Fig. 7. The averaged performance values
from these tests can be seen in Table 4.

Figure 6. Performance Test 1; perfectly expanded bell

nozzle. Figure 7. Performance Test 1 histograms; perfectly
expanded bell nozzle.

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 Observing the images in Fig. 6, the perfectly expanded nozzle seems to be expanding the combustion gas as
expected, since the plume seems to be protruding almost directly vertical out of the nozzle in the center frame. Faint
Mach diamonds can be seen indicating that the nozzle NPR is slightly off from the perfect expansion condition for
this nozzle. There are fairly high thrust fluctuations seen at the beginning of the burn indicating some combustion
instabilities, but the average value seems to mirror the pressure indicating a good correlation between the two.
The second performance test also utilized the perfectly expanded bell nozzle. Images from this test can be seen
in Fig. 8. After start up the nozzle plume is acting as expected showing traits of a perfectly expanded nozzle. The
thrust and pressure histograms can be seen in Fig. 9. The average performance values from these tests can be seen in
Table 4.

Figure 8. Performance Test 2; perfectly expanded

isentropic bell nozzle.
Figure 9. Performance Test 2 histograms; perfectly
expanded isentropic bell nozzle.

There was slightly less chamber pressure on this test than perf. test 1, corresponding to lower thrust. However
the thrust and pressure fluctuations are far less indicating less combustion instability, and the two curves have good
correlation.
The third performance test utilizing the perfectly expanded bell nozzle can be seen in Fig. 10. Once again the
perfectly expanded nozzle plume seems to be visually acting as expected. The thrust and pressure histograms can be
seen in Fig. 11. The averaged performance values from these tests can be seen in Table 4.

Figure 10. Performance Test 3; perfectly expanded bell

nozzle.
Figure 11. Performance Test 3 results; perfectly
Looking at the histograms for perf. test 3 it is seen that expanded bell nozzle.
there is a larger pressure jump at the beginning of the
burn, with a corresponding increase in thrust. It assumed that this is due to remnants of the initiator in the chamber
being supercharged by N2O. In this state the initiator is spent fairly instantaneously, on the order of ~0.1-0.2 [s], but
causes an overall increase in pressure and thrust because of the energetic nature of solid propellant. The affects of
this on the nozzle's performance will be discussed further in section IV-B.

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 The average performance values from the histograms for the three perfectly expanded bell nozzle tests can be
seen in Table 4. As expected perf. test 3 had higher average thrust and pressure values than the other two. The direct
affect of this on nozzle performance will be seen in the performance analysis in section IV-B.

Table 4. Perfectly Expanded Bell Nozzle Average Test Results

Avg. Thrust Avg. Po
Test No. tb [s]
[N] [MPa]

Perf. 1 939.69 3.100 3.497

Perf. 2 842.14 2.698 2.240

Perf. 3 1300.33 3.886 1.485

The following results for perf. test 4 correspond to the over-expanded isentropic bell nozzle. Images from this
test can be seen in Fig. 12. When viewing the nozzle plume in perf. test 4, it is seen that at the nozzle exit plane the
plume bows inward. This indicates that the ambient pressure is much greater than the nozzle exit pressure, hence the
nozzle is in an over-expanded state. There are also much stronger Mach-disks seen in the plume, revealing strong
shock and compression waves further adjusting the plume to ambient conditions. The thrust and pressure histograms
can be seen in Fig. 13. The average performance values from these tests can be seen in Table 5.

Figure 12. Performance Test 4; over-expanded bell Figure 13. Performance Test 4 results; over-expanded
nozzle. bell nozzle.

The thrust and pressure histograms show good correlation between the two, with some fluctuations seen in the
thrust data, but very little in the pressure data. This would indicate ringing, or oscillations within the test setup, that
was measured by the load cell. There is a minor pressure jump at the start which most likely caused by high initial
regression rate of the grain, and has been seen on most tests. There is a steady drop in thrust and pressure as the
oxidizer tank ``blows down".

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 A test image and the histogram for the fifth performance test can be seen in Fig. 14. and 15, respectively.
Immediately after viewing the image in Fig. 14 it is known that perf. test 5 did not go as planned.

Figure 14. Performance Test 5; over-expanded Figure 15. Performance Test 5 histograms; over-
bell nozzle failure. expanded bell nozzle.

There was a failure in the snap-ring retaining the hybrid rocket motor's injector in the forward end-closure
approximately 0.4 [s] after the beginning of the oxidizer flow. The injector disconnected itself blasting through the
hybrid fuel grain. During this time there was so much debris within the motor that the nozzle became almost
instantaneously plugged, causing an over pressurization and blow out of the nozzle. The averaged performance
values from these tests can be seen in Table 5.
With careful examination the injector can actually be seen exiting the rocket motor in Fig. 14. After recovering
and evaluating the pieces that were not disintegrated during the over pressurization it was concluded that the snap-
ring may not have been fully engaged due to debris in the snap-ring groove, and/or deformation of the snap-ring
from long duration compression. Due to the over pressurization and the large impulse gained from part of the nozzle
being blown out, both the pressure transducer and the load cell were inoperable due to over loading.
Table 5 contains the averaged values from the over-expanded performance tests. The over-expanded nozzle
showed reasonable thrust and pressure values, further performance values can be seen in Table 7 along with further
discussion on the subject. The results from perf. test 5 are erroneous due to the failure that occurred during testing.

Table 5. Over-expanded Bell Nozzle Performance Test Results

Avg. Thrust Avg. Po
Test No. tb [s]
[N] [MPa]

Perf. 4 902.81 3.261 2.721

Perf. 5 603.54 2.770 0.410

The aerospike nozzle performance tests were conducted to validate the design outlined in section I, and verify
and analyze the performance gain due to the perfect expansion process that the aerospike utilizes during its
operation. Perf. test 6 was the first aerospike nozzle test at full motor operating conditions; i.e. full mass flow rate
and oxidizer tank pressure. In order to ensure the aerospike nozzle could withstand full operating conditions, the
throat area for this test was slightly larger than the original design, as seen in Table 3. Images from perf. test 6 can
be seen in Fig. 16. Looking at these it is seen that the plume travels down the length of the spike contour before
eventually separating as the gas pressure and ambient pressure approach equilibrium. The thrust and pressure
histograms can be seen in Fig. 17. The average performance values from these tests can be seen in Table 6.

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Figure 16. Performance Test 6; aerospike nozzle.

Figure 17. Performance Test 6 histograms; aerospike

nozzle.
There is some combustion instability immediately after start up in perf. test 6, as seen in the thrust and pressure
oscillations that lasts approximately 0.5 [s]. The pressure and thrust histograms show great correlation, with no real
instabilities past what is initially seen during the burn. In the third frame of Fig. 16 a change in the flow field can be
seen. This is due to the cruciform inlet melting, and molten steel being injected into the combustion gas as it travels
into the aerospike nozzle. This occurred very briefly right at the end of the burn, after approximately 3 [s], for a
duration on the order of 0.2-0.3 [s].
The post test cruciform inlet and central body can be seen in Fig. 18. It was observed that the cruciform inlet had
melted along the nozzle axis towards the nozzle exit, not radially into the material wall. This was due to the flow
impinging on the cruciform inlet face, and the combustion gas reaching stagnation temperatures, which started to
melt the inlet. The rest of the central body components were lightly coated in steel in the areas directly aft of the
cruciform inlet cross sections.

Figure 18. Performance test 6 post test cruciform inlet (left) and central body (right).

The post test graphite cowling can be seen in Fig. 19.

Because of the direct contact with liquid steel the graphite
eroded greatly at the spots directly behind the cruciform inlet
cross-members. This can be seen in the right frame of Fig.
19.
After analyzing the results from perf. test 6, it was
determined that the aerospike could withstand hot fire
combustion gas at full operating conditions if certain
precautions were taken. The next step was to test the
aerospike nozzle design with the correct throat area. In order
to reduce the probability of the cruciform inlet melting, it was Figure 19. Performance test 6 post test graphite
decided that short duration testing of approximately 1 [s] cowling.
would prevent melting since the cruciform did not begin to
melt until after 3 [s] in the previous test.
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 Images from perf. test 7 can be seen in Fig. 20, along with the thrust and pressure histograms seen in Fig. 21.
After the plume accelerates down the isentropic contour and equalizes with the ambient air, the plume almost shoots
straight upward as expected, as though it was perfectly expanded. There are however some recognizable Mach disks
within the plume that would indicate compression and shock waves continuing the expansion process, so there will
be flow losses attributed to these compressibility effects. The averaged performance values are seen in Table 6. The
pressure and thrust histograms show good correlation between the hybrid motor's thrust and pressure levels. There
are some fluctuations within the thrust level that would indicate some ringing with the system.

Figure 20. Performance test 7; aerospike nozzle.

Figure 21. Performance test 7 histograms; aerospike

nozzle.
Perf. test 8 was the final aerospike test conducted and the last performance test as well. Images from this test can
be seen in Fig. 22. The thrust and pressure histograms can be seen in Fig. 23.

Figure 22. Performance test 8; aerospike nozzle.

Figure 23. Performance test 8 results: aerospike

nozzle.

This test was conducted in the same manner as perf. test 7; with full operating conditions and design . The
plume seems to be acting in the same manner as perf. test 7, such that after the plume leaves the spike contour it is
shooting straight up as though being perfectly expanded. There are a few observable Mach-disk flow field
geometries. The averaged performance values from these tests can be seen in Table 6.
Perf. test 6 and 7 were conducted consecutively without issue. There was very little degradation to nozzle
components and the thrust and pressure levels were fairly high. The post test cruciform inlet and central body
components can be seen Fig. 24. There was no melting of the components as previously seen in perf. test 6, which
was a result of the shortened burn duration.

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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 Figure 24. Performance Test 7 and 8 post test cruciform inlet (left) and central body (right).

The only material breakdown that can be noted is that shortly

after perf. tests 7 and 8 were conducted oxidation of the steel
components began to set in. This is due to the highly oxidized
environment that the components go through due to the injection
of N2O into the system. Prior to the tests no oxidation had began
to occur. The graphite cowling from these tests can be seen in Fig.
25. There was also minimal degradation to the graphite cowling,
which was vital to maintaining the appropriate throat area. If the
throat area can remain constant during the burn then the nozzles
performance should stay fairly constant throughout the duration Figure 25. Performance test 6 post test graphite
of the test. cowling.
The average performance results from the aerospike nozzle thrust and pressure histograms are seen below in
Table 6. Perf. test 6 has far less chamber pressure and thrust. This is due to the larger throat area. Perf. tests 7 and 8
show much higher levels of chamber pressure, which results in much higher levels of thrust. Also note that the burn
times for perf. tests 7 and 8 are much lower than perf. test 6 which saw the melting of the cruciform inlet.

Table 6: Aerospike Nozzle Performance Test Results

Avg. Thrust Avg. Po
Test No. tb [s]
[N] [MPa]

Perf. 6 806.75 1.906 3.074

Perf. 7 1367.44 4.687 0.914

Perf. 8 1426.35 4.819 0.932

B. Performance Analysis
In order to properly evaluate the affects of the rocket nozzles on the propulsion systems performance a few key
performance parameters of a rocket motor must be defined. The thrust coefficient is a non-dimensional term that
measures how well the nozzle is expanding the combustion gas in the supersonic diverging section of the nozzle,
and is represented in Eq. 4. This can be used to find the thrust coefficient from experimental results. The thrust
coefficient for ideal nozzle operation with no flow losses can be seen in Eq. 5.

= (4)

+1 1
2 2 2 1
= 1 + (5)
1 +1

For the aerospike nozzle and the perfectly expanded bell nozzle the second term of Eq. 5 will drop out of this
equation assuming that the nozzle exit pressure will be equal to the ambient conditions. The nozzle thrust coefficient
efficiency is simply the theoretical values over the experimental value.
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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 The next performance parameter is the characteristic velocity, which measures how well the rocket motor is
operating aside from the performance gains from the nozzle.

= (6)

The specific impulse was also used to measure the performance of the rocket motor, and is defined as the amount
of thrust produced over a time period by a given amount of propellant. The specific impulse is represented in Eq. 7.

= (7)

Table 7 has the performance values for all the confidence and performance tests covered in the previous section.
It should be noted that each nozzle generally ranged far lower in all performance values than expected. The primary
measure for nozzle performance was CF and CF. Unfortunately all motors had a nozzle efficiency between 0.67 and
0.76, except for perf. test 3, which will be discussed later. It is normal that a rocket nozzle will underperform its
expected theoretical values for performance due to poor combustion and flow losses. 5 For this reason the primary
focus of this performance analysis will be the comparison of the experimental CF values, since each nozzle was
tested with the same hybrid motor test bed.
Out of the perfectly expanded nozzle experimental runs, perf. test 3 performed the best based off of CF, and
actually was the highest performing nozzle out of all the tests. It also had the highest chamber pressure out of all the
perfectly expanded bell nozzle tests. As previously mentioned the histograms from this test showed a pressure
overshoot at the start of the burn. This jump was more than expected for the initial jump in regression rate and was
theorized to be due to the remains of a solid motor initiator being supercharged by N2O as the oxidizer flow began.
This would contribute slightly to the increase in performance making this test erroneous.

Table 7: Performance Values for All Nozzle Tests

Test No. Nozzle Theo. CF Exp. CF CF C* [m/s] C* Isp [s] O/F

Perf. 1 Perfect 1.48 1.12 0.76 1455.74 0.73 167.86 9.48

Perf. 2 Perfect 1.46 1.11 0.76 1239.83 0.62 141.35 9.71

Perf. 3 Perfect 1.51 1.24 0.82 1535.93 0.77 195.51 9.09

Perf. 4 Over 1.41 1.03 0.73 1533.18 0.77 161.45 9.06

Perf. 5 Over 1.35 0.81 0.60 - - - -

Perf. 6 Aero 1.40 1.06 0.76 806.99 0.41 129.92 8.33

Perf. 7 Aero 1.54 1.08 0.70 1916.49 0.96 212.69 8.43

Perf. 8 Aero 1.64 1.10 0.67 1951.31 0.98 219.70 7.50

Perf. tests 1 and 2, corresponding to the other perfectly expanded nozzle tests proved to be the second and third
highest performing tests according to their experimental CF values. These tests slightly outperformed the aerospike
nozzle when compared to the results seen in perf. tests 7 and 8. The aerospike nozzle performed fairly well in
comparison to the perfectly expanded nozzle, but it was expected that perfectly expanded nozzle would outperform
the aerospike nozzle due to inherent flow losses in its expansion process. Perf. test 6 performed the lowest of the
aerospike tests due to the low chamber pressure seen from the larger throat area which caused the expansion ratio to
be off design, thus the desired expansion process could not occur. The over-expanded nozzle tested in perf. test 4,
proved to have far lower performance than the perfectly expanded bell nozzle, and far lower than the aerospike
nozzle tested in perf. tests 7 and 8.
Although the theoretical values for CF indicate that the aerospike should have outperformed all other nozzles, the
aerospike nozzle utilizes a complex expansion process with flow losses attributed to it. After taking this into
consideration, it is understood why the perfectly expanded bell nozzle, at its design altitude, outperforms the
aerospike nozzle. This also explains why the aerospike nozzle CF efficiency is so low, when comparing its
theoretical CF to its experimental value. Based on the experimental CF in the results presented above, the aerospike
nozzle had comparable performance to the perfectly expanded nozzle; with just a slightly lower CF. The aerospike
nozzle also outperformed the over-expanded nozzle by a great deal in terms of CF This demonstrates that although
the aerospike nozzle's design NPR is for an over-expanded state, it outperforms the over-expanded bell nozzle by a
significant quantity, and has the ability to expand the exhaust gas almost as well as a bell nozzle perfectly expanded
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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
to the test altitude. This proves that the aerospike nozzle has the ability to use the ambient air as the outer boundary
of its diverging section to expand the combustion gas and compensate for a deviation from design conditions.
In theory the aerospike nozzle should show an increase in Isp over the bell shaped nozzles. The results from these
tests do in fact show that the aerospike nozzle has increased Isp over the other nozzles, but this does not seem correct
since the perfectly expanded nozzle had higher performance than the aerospike nozzle in terms of CF. In fact, if
some of the other performance characteristics are analyzed the truth is revealed. The characteristic velocity, C* is a
good measure of motor performance separate from the effects of the nozzle's expansion process. 1 The tests for the
aerospike nozzle do in fact show higher C* values. This indicates that the hybrid rocket motor was performing better
during these tests.
The cause of this is obvious once the O/F ratio is examined. The design frozen O/F ratio of 6.5 should
theoretically allow the motor to operate stoichiometrically and have the most efficient combustion to produce the
highest Isp. For the perfectly expanded nozzle in perf tests 1, 2, and 3 the O/F is 9.48, 9.71, and 9.09 respectively.
The motor's C* performance for each of these tests increases as their O/F decreases towards 6.5. The aerospike
nozzle O/F for perf. tests 7 and 8 correspond to 8.43 and 7.50 respectively, with both resulting in higher C* values
than any of the perfectly expanded tests. They are approaching a value of approximately 6.5. These tests have higher
Isp values because they are closer to stoichiometric, hence the motor is performing better from a combustion stand
point. When analyzing the characteristic velocity efficiency C* it is seen that perf. tests 7 and 8 do have the highest
efficiencies. Note that the theoretical C* for the hybrid rocket motor is 1983.37 [m/s]. This indicates that they are in
fact operating the closest to ideal conditions, which explains the increased Isp. Further analysis shows that the test
that have higher chamber pressure have a lower O/F resulting in increased motor performance. This may be due to
the affects of higher oxidizer tank pressure on the G ox, which would directly affect the regression rate of the motor
and the O/F ratio.

V. Conclusion
A toroidal aerospike nozzle was designed and developed in order to withstand the combustion gas temperatures
seen during hot fire testing. By doing so the aerospike nozzle could undergo static testing while integrated with a
N2O/HTPB hybrid rocket motor. This further allowed a bell nozzle perfectly expanded to the test facility altitude
and a bell nozzle over-expanded to an NPR corresponding to the aerospike's design NPR to be tested alongside the
aerospike nozzle for performance comparisons.
Theoretically the aerospike nozzle should have had comparable performance to the perfectly expanded nozzle,
and outperform the over-expanded nozzle. The experimental performance analysis carried out showed that the
aerospike nozzle did indeed outperform the over-expanded nozzle, showing as much as a 6.4% increase in CF for
selected cases. The aerospike nozzle definitely showed comparable results to that of that of the perfectly expanded
nozzle, within 0.9% of its CF for selected cases. Although an increase in Isp was seen for the aerospike nozzle in
comparison to the other nozzles, further analysis showed that this was more a property of the hybrid rocket motor's
operation due to high chamber pressure, which brought the O/F ratio closer to stoichiometric conditions. The
adaptive expansion process for the aerospike nozzle was verified and proved to perform as expected when compared
to the conventional bell nozzle performance results.

A. Recommendations for Future Work

Nozzle performance is just one facet of rocket motor operation, thus it is imperative that when carrying out such
performance comparison tests that great emphasis be made on the consistency between tests. Specifically for the
case of the hybrid rocket motor. There should be no deviation in grain composition, which can be controlled by
careful and consistent motor mixing processes. Due to the effects of chamber pressure on the motor's performance
seen from the experimental results, there should be better control over the oxidizer tank pressure in order to control
the oxidizer mass flow rate, which relates directly to the motor's chamber pressure. This can be done with better tank
heating systems and more accurate gauges to measure the oxidizer tank pressure.
Further static tests would need to be carried out to further validate the aerospike nozzle's operation and
performance. This includes more over-expanded testing and further analysis of the expansion process that the
aerospike utilizes. If more experimental runs could be conducted then the results would be more statistically
significant.
The next step in performance testing would be conducting flight tests that would allow better analysis of the
aerospike nozzle altitude adapting operation, and should be carried out alongside bell nozzle tests of the same nature
for direct comparisons. This would of course require longer burn times, thus the aerospike nozzle design would

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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
require the implementation of new materials and design improvements to withstand such long testing durations. This
might include a regeneratively cooled system that could use a portion of the oxidizer gas as a coolant. The
development of a flight test rocket capable of safe and consistent testing would also be required.

B. Closing Remarks
An aerospike nozzle design that can mitigate nozzle degradation and prevent failure while being subjected to hot
combustion gases allows further progression into the field of hot fire testing of such nozzles, an area that is lacking.
Furthermore, the direct performance comparisons presented in this report have never before been conducted with
this type of system, and gives great insight into aerospike nozzle operation during hot fire static tests while utilizing
a hybrid propulsion system. The results from these tests prove that this aerospike nozzle has the ability to
outperform an over-expanded bell nozzle. Even more importantly, the aerospike nozzle was able to perform almost
as well as a perfectly expanded bell nozzle. This proves that the aerospike was able to adapt to the test altitude,
almost expanding the combustion gas as well as a nozzle specifically designed for that altitude. The tests carried out
in this research lay down the steps for future aerospike nozzle designs and further performance testing, including
flight testing. It is hoped that information presented in this report will open a window for future nozzle designs.

References
1
Sutton, G., Biblarz, O., \underline{Rocket Propulsion Elements},Wiley, 7th Edition, 2001
2
Hagemann, G., Immich, H., Van Nguyen, T., Dumnov, G., Advanced Rocket Nozzles, Journal of Propulsion
and Power, Vol. 14, No. 5, 1998,pp. 620-634.
3
Ruf, J.H., McConnaughey, P.K., The Plume Physics Behind Aerospike Nozzle Altitude Compensation and
Slipstream Effect, AIAA-1997-3218-617, 1997
4
Nasuti, F., Onofri, M., Analysis of In-Flight Behavior of Truncated Plug Nozzles, Journal of Propulsion and
Power, Vol. 17, No. 4, 2001,pp. 809-817.
5
Tomita, T., Takashi M.,Onodera T., Effects of Base Bleed on Thrust Performance of a Linear Aerospike
Engine, AIAA Paper 99-25862, 1999.
6
Tomita, T., Hiroshi, T., Mamoru, T., An Experimental Investigation of a Plug Nozzle Flow Field,
AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE 32nd Joint Propulsion Conference, Lake Buena Vista, FL, AIAA Paper 96-2632, July
1996.
7
Bui, T.T., Murray J.E., Rodgers C.E, Bartel S., Ceraroni A., Dennett M., Flight Research of an Aerospike
Nozzle Using High Powered Solid Rockets, AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE 41st Joint Propulsion Conference, Tucson,
AZ, AIAA-2005-3797, July 2005.
8
Stoffel, J.R., Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Aerospike Nozzles in a Hybrid Rocket Propulsion
System, AIAA Region VI Student Conference, 2008.
9
Dennis, J., Shark, S., Hernandez, F., Design of a N2O/HTPB Hybrid Rocket Motor Utilizing a Toroidal
Aerospike Nozzle, 48th Annual Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Orlando, FL, AIAA-191512-711, January 2010.

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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics