HYBRID LEVEL SETS METHOD/FINITE ELEMENT FLOW SOLVER FOR VISCOUS FLOW SIMULATIONS WITH MOVING BOUNDARIES

Abstract

The Fluid-Structural interaction between the flow field and the burning surface of a solid propellant rocket is investigated. The burning surface evolution geometry is captured using the level sets method. The flow field is modelled using different levels of complexity namely starting from a lumped mass (zero-dimensional unsteady) model till two-dimensional axisymmetric unsteady compressible viscous model. The coupling is applied successfully to the problem of internal ballistics of a solid rocket motor. The results are validated against available experimental work. Also, the coupling is applied successfully to the problem of wedge flow with a moving edge and shocks interactions.