During the thermal launch stage of the rocket, the launch ship and device are subjected to thermal erosion caused by the high-temperature, high-speed, and high-pressure gas jet tail flame. The re-ignition effect of the gas flow can also impact the distribution of high-temperature loads in the rocket launch area, leading to severe consequences, such as unstable rocket launches and equipment damage. Therefore, studying the distribution characteristics of the tail flame discharge is of great significance for ensuring the safety of maritime thermal launches. In this paper, a numerical model of the downstream adjacent structure near the solid rocket nozzle outlet was established, and the tail-flame flow field under pure gas-phase action was simulated using turbulence and discrete phase models. The characteristics of the tail flame during hot launches considering the guiding device equipped on the deck were analyzed, providing data support for further exploration of the safety design of maritime thermal launch systems. The results show that as the maritime rocket thermal launch progresses, the tail flame gas velocity on the deck gradually decreases, along with a rapid decline in impact force and radiation temperature, corresponding to the distance from the nozzle outlet. It has been verified that the high-temperature tail flame poses a greater erosion hazard to the launch region, especially the guiding device, during the initial launch stage, which should be a focus of future studies.
Zhou et al. (Sun,) studied this question.