Application of CFD to LE-7A OTP Alternate Inducer Development

The alternate oxidizer turbo-pump inducer development has been carried out to improve the suction performance of the LE-7A rocket engine. CFD was utilized for the design and development of the alternate inducer. For the first step, non-cavitating CFD was applied to verify the blade the design concept. Next, steady state cavitating CFD was carried out to predict suction performance. Finally, large-scale unsteady cavitating CFD was performed to evaluate the cavitation-induced instability. In the present paper, the application of CFD for the development of the alternate inducer will be presented.