Modeling of chemically reacting flows from a side jet at high altitudes

The interaction of a jet from a 60-lbf (267-N) thruster positioned on the side of a small rocket, with the rarefied atmosphere between altitudes of 80 to 160 km, is studied numerically. A multistep approach is employed, which combines the successive computation of the flow inside the thruster using a Navier-Stokes solver, the axisymmetric plume core flow, and chemically reacting three-dimensional plume-atmosphere interaction using the direct simulation Monte Carlo method, and obtains the UV radiation fields based on the flow solution. The impact of the boundary layer inside the nozzle as well as the rocket speed (5-8 km/s) and flight altitude (80-160 km) on the plume-atmosphere interaction is examined.