TY  - JOUR
AU  - ZHENG, Hao
AU  - TANG, Yong
AU  - CHEN, Xiangnan
AU  - LI, Ji
AU  - LIN, Zhiqiang
AU  - SHI, Baolu
PY  - 2026
TI  - Base-region thermal environment and flow characteristics of liquid rocket in retro-propulsion re-entry process
JO  - Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica
SN  - 1000-6893
VL  - 47
IS  - 8
AB  - Reusable liquid-propellant launch vehicles constitute a pivotal direction for future space transportation systems. During vertical re-entry of a rocket, the aft-mounted engines descend in an irregular configuration facing the freestream. The local thermal environment and flow characteristics are highly complex. A simulation study of the flow over a Falcon 9 v1.2 derived geometry was conducted for four representative re-entry phases: high-altitude powered deceleration, high-altitude aerodynamic deceleration, low-altitude aerodynamic deceleration, and low-altitude powered deceleration. The vehicle thermal environment is markedly transient and non-uniform: plume morphology evolves continuously with altitude and engine operating condition. Powered deceleration phases exhibit substantially stronger flow disturbances and heat-flux maxima than aerodynamic deceleration phases owing to intense plume-freestream coupling. Secondary combustion exerts a global thermal influence on the far-field plume at low altitude. Across the four characteristic stages, the peak heat flux persistently localizes at the nozzle lip and the aft-edge of the rocket base, reaching 380 kW/m2, these data constitute a quantitative basis for engine thermal-protection design.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.32772
DO  - 10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.32772