Thermo-Structural Response of a Rocket Thruster Using Fem
Deepthi Ch1, G. Vijay Kumar2, P Ravindra Reddy3
1Deepthi Ch,  M. Tech, Department of Mechanical Engineering, PVPSIT, Vijayawada, India.
2Dr. G. Vijay Kumar,  Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, PVPSIT, Vijayawada, India.
3Dr. P Ravindra Reddy,  HOD, Department of Mechanical Engineering, CBIT, Hyderabad, India.
Manuscript received on November 27, 2013. | Revised Manuscript received on December 13, 2013. | Manuscript published on December 30, 2013. | PP: 442-449 | Volume-3, Issue-2, December 2013. | Retrieval Number:  B2514123213/2013©BEIESP

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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: Rocket Thruster is a reaction control system of liquid rocket propulsion system, used for the attitude control of missile. The reaction control system is employed in the missile to provide roll control to the second stage after separation of the first stage. The thruster is subjected to temperature and pressure loads during its operation. It is essential for a flight vehicle to have low weight and high velocity to overcome the gravity. In order to develop compact size thruster, it is required to carry out structural analysis for SS321 material. The present report deals with analysis of Rocket Thruster casing and flange joint. The Rocket Thruster casing is designed as per ASME pressure vessel code and NASA SP 125 design report. The proposed model is a modification from the conventional joint between L-dome and injector plate. Thermo-structural analysis is performed to evaluate the new design which eliminates use of welded joint. Analysis is carried out to estimate stresses especially in the modified region to ensure less stresses are developed compared to the original design. Analysis has been carried out considering the external injector pressure for shell and then the temperature loads are applied on the thruster to estimate the deformations and stresses. The Thruster is then subjected to a thermo-structural load and then von Mises stresses are estimated.
Keywords: Finite Element Method, Thermo-structural response, Rocket Thruster.