Lifetime prediction of a rocket combustion chamber wall by a viscoplastic damage model

Regeneratively cooled nozzle structures of Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV) belong to the most critical components of a space shuttle main engine. The so‐called doghouse effect is a failure mode in the rocket combustion chamber wall, which has been observed experimentally. Within the Collaborative Research Centre SFB‐TR 40 of the German Research Foundation (DFG), new technologies for the future space‐transport‐systems are being developed. By using a new continuum mechanical approach, motivated by a rheological model, we are able to reproduce the doghouse effect. Moreover we intend to give reliable lifetime predictions for rocket combustion chamber structures so that in future components can be tested virtually instead of conducting real experiments. (© 2014 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)