Regenerative cooling optimisation in 3D-print rocket nozzles

火箭喷嘴必须冷却，以确保它们不会在排气羽流的热负荷下失效。这通常是通过将燃料通过喷嘴表面下的热交换器来完成的，这样在燃烧前燃料的焓增加时，喷嘴被冷却。越来越多的火箭发动机包括3D打印部件。因此，现在可以在喷嘴中嵌入更复杂的冷却几何形状，以确保有效冷却，同时降低泵送燃料通过系统所需的压头。反过来，这将减少对涡轮泵的需求，并创造一个更轻的发动机。该项目将研究人工智能技术是否可以用于优化喷嘴，以满足冷却和压头的要求，这种方式刚刚成为可能。

Rocket nozzles must be cooled to ensure that they do not fail under the thermal load of the exhaust plume. This is usually done by passing fuel through a heat-exchanger under the nozzle surface, so that the nozzle is cooled while the enthalpy of the fuel in increased prior to combustion. Increasingly, rocket engines include 3D printed parts. Therefore, it is possible that more complex cooling geometries can now be embedded in the nozzle, ensuring efficient cooling while reducing the pressure head needed to pump the fuel through the system. This would, in turn, reduce the demands on the turbopumps and create a lighter engine. This project will examine if AI techniques can be used to optimise the nozzle for both the cooling and pressure head requirements, in a manner that is only just becoming possible.