Development and simulation of a 3D printed liquid oxygen/liquid natural gas aerospike

One of the most difficult aspects to solve, in the development of an aerospike engine, is the cooling of the throat and base regions. This issue is addressed nowadays by relying on new capabilities offered by additive manufacturing techniques together with novel powder materials, that allow to design complex shapes while keeping the prototyping cost low. The following work shows the design and manufacturing process of DemoP1, an aerospike engine demonstrator developed by Pangea Aerospace, that applies the new capabilities offered by additive manufacturing. To validate the development, the engine has been tested at the P8.2 test stand of the Germany Space Agency (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt, DLR) in Lampoldshausen. Finally, a numerical strategy has been implemented and validated to simulate the engine flowfield, therefore obtaining relevant information that would be impractical to measure during tests, such as the pressure distribution along the plug and in the plume and the estimation of the heat flux on the throat and spike walls to be used to guide and validate the design process.