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In a nozzle or other constriction, the discharge coefficient (also known as coefficient of discharge or efflux coefficient) is the ratio of the actual discharge to the ideal discharge, [1] i.e., the ratio of the mass flow rate at the discharge end of the nozzle to that of an ideal nozzle which expands an identical working fluid from the same initial conditions to the same exit pressures.
Characteristic velocity or , or C-star is a measure of the combustion performance of a rocket engine independent of nozzle performance, and is used to compare different propellants and propulsion systems. c* should not be confused with c, which is the effective exhaust velocity related to the specific impulse by: =. Specific impulse and ...
As an example calculation using the above equation, assume that the propellant combustion gases are: at an absolute pressure entering the nozzle p = 7.0 MPa and exit the rocket exhaust at an absolute pressure p e = 0.1 MPa; at an absolute temperature of T = 3500 K; with an isentropic expansion factor γ = 1.22 and a molar mass M = 22 kg/kmol.
Figure 1: A de Laval nozzle, showing approximate flow velocity increasing from green to red in the direction of flow Density flow in a nozzle. A rocket engine nozzle is a propelling nozzle (usually of the de Laval type) used in a rocket engine to expand and accelerate combustion products to high supersonic velocities.
The choked velocity is a function of the upstream pressure but not the downstream. Although the velocity is constant, the mass flow rate is dependent on the density of the upstream gas, which is a function of the upstream pressure. Flow velocity reaches the speed of sound in the orifice, and it may be termed a sonic orifice.
After M e = 1 is reached at the nozzle exit for p r = 0.5283p 0, the condition of choked flow occurs and the velocity throughout the nozzle cannot change with further decreases in p r. This is due to the fact that pressure changes downstream of the exit cannot travel upstream to cause changes in the flow conditions.
The mass flow rate for a compressible fluid will increase with increased upstream pressure, which will increase the density of the fluid through the constriction (though the velocity will remain constant). This is the principle of operation of a de Laval nozzle. Increasing source temperature will also increase the local sonic velocity, thus ...
For any chemical rocket engine, the momentum transfer efficiency depends heavily on the effectiveness of the nozzle; the nozzle is the primary means of converting reactant energy (e.g. thermal or pressure energy) into a flow of momentum all directed the same way.