APPLICATION OF CFB TECHNIQUES TO THE DESIGPJ OF THE ARUNE 5 TURBOPJJMP I

Aerodynamic redesign of the “Vulcain” engine liquid oxygen turbopump has been performed as part of the upgrade process of the European rocket ‘Ariane 5”. The new ‘W&ain 2” turbopump geometry has been produced making extensive use of CFD techniques. Three-dimensional fully-viscous steady multigrid computations have been performed on the pump axial stage, composed of an inducer and a deswirler. Investigations of pump performance have been carried out not only at operating conditions, but also at off-design. Numerical predictions have been validated by means of comparisons between calculated and experimental data coming from water tests. CFD has supported the redesign process allowing the designer to choose between different configurations, as well as to optimize the component design. As a result, a fully-3D geometry was obtained for the axial stage, with signiilcant beneflts in terms of aerodynamics.