Influence of Channel Geometry Micro-Deviation on the Life Prediction of the Reusable Rocket Engine

A study on the influence of the off-nominal configuration of the cooling channel on the thrust chamber life prediction result is presented in this paper. The initial micro deviation on the coolant side of the inner wall is modeled for the off-nominal channel. Thermal-structure analysis of ten off-nominal channels and the nominal channel is conducted. Results reveal that the maximal strain ranges of all off-nominal channels are higher than that of the nominal channel, which leads to less predicted life. In addition, the life prediction results agree with some experimental life. The off-nominal configuration of the as-built channel may lead to the dispersion of the experimental data.