Commercial Aircraft Propulsion - Thrust from a Convergent Nozzle

Overview

Jet engines have been the workhorses of the aviation industry for many decades. The fundamental idea of a jet engine is to generate thrust to propel the aircraft forward. To generate thrust, jet engines are fitted with devices called nozzles at their exit. After undergoing combustion in the combustion chamber and a small expansion through the turbine section, air at high temperature and pressure enters a converging nozzle through which it expands and is accelerated to very high velocities which results in the generation of thrust.

Objectives

In this example, you will learn how to simulate and analyze a compressible flow through a converging nozzle using Ansys Fluent. You will learn also learn how to calculate the discharge and thrust coefficients and compare these values with experimental results.

Setup

Download the Mesh file required for setting up the simulation and associated Case and Data files here. Follow the instructions below to set up this simulation in Ansys Fluent starting with the Mesh file. In case you face any issues setting up or running the simulation, refer to the corresponding initial and final Case and Data files.

Alternate video link.

Results and Discussion

Let’s now analyze and understand the physics of compressible air flow through a converging nozzle