Prediction and analysis of heat transfer in small rocket chambers

The knowledge on the mechanisms of heat transfer is a very important aspect when designing an experiment for a rocket combustion chamber. Therefore much work is invested in tools capable to predict and analyze the heat transfer. Facing the task of commonly preparing a test setup, the partners of the multi-national and EU-funded project 'Aerodynamic and Thermal Load Interactions with Lightweight Advanced Materials for High Speed Flight', short ATLLAS, conducted a benchmark of their different methods to predict wall heat fluxes and to calculate the wall temperature. This paper traces the common approach for the prediction of heat transfer in a small rocket chamber, compares this method with experimental data from an existing combustion chamber with 20 mm diameter and finally discusses predictions and first run-in results of a new 37 mm diameter combustion chamber. The findings of this work may be used as reference for further investigations.