Coupled Thermo-Structural Analysis Model of Solid Rocket Motor Nozzle considering the Variation of Friction Coefficient under Operating Conditions

Multi-interface is a typical feature of solid rocket motor nozzles, and the interface evolution law is an important aspect to analyze the thermo-structural response of solid rocket motor nozzles. In this paper, based on the friction coefficient test at different temperatures, a coupled thermo-structural analysis model of solid rocket motor nozzle considering the variation of friction coefficient under operating conditions was established. Firstly, the friction coefficient was tested to model the variation at different temperatures. Then, by adopting structure gap, variable friction coefficient, thermal contact resistance, and friction heat production, a strongly coupled non-linear model was established. Simulations using the non-linear model and traditional model were performed, in which the stress of the throat insert was within the required stress range of the material. The ground firing test result demonstrated the validity of the analysis model, and the non-linear model was in a better agreement with the firing test than the traditional model. Therefore, it can be concluded that with a more specific friction coefficient to represent the friction behaviour of the different parts of the nozzle, the strongly coupled non-linear model established in this paper can reflect the essence of thermo-structural response of solid rocket motor nozzle.