Color Schlieren imaging of high-pressure overexpanded planar nozzle flow using a simple, low-cost test apparatus

Complex flow features within rocket nozzles can exert significant influence on both the dynamics and safety of rockets during flight. Specifically, under over-expanded flow conditions, during, low altitude flight, random, often large side loads can appear within nozzles. While significant research has focused on this classical problem, due to the high nozzle pressure ratios (NPR) extant across rocket nozzles, most experimental work: (1) has focused on measuring wall pressure distributions under conditions when side loads appear, (2) has been carried out in large government or industrial test facilities, and (3) has only provided limited, though crucially important, visualization data. This short paper describes the construction and operation of a very simple, low cost test apparatus that allows imaging of flow features within planar nozzles, under the high NPR conditions characteristic of medium-to-large rockets. Representative color Schlieren images of flow shock structure obtained within the test apparatus are also presented and briefly described.