Preliminary study of a resonant igniter for Rocket Engines

The work reported herein is a preliminary numerical study of a resonant igniter for rocket engines. Resonant igniters are very attractive and promising for in-space thrusters, since they are simple, highly reliable and lightweight. Fine-tuning of various parameters is required to initiate and maintain the resonance conditions required for heat generation. A numerical study based on a finite element discretisation of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations is performed in order to analyze the main physical phenomena which govern the behaviour of the igniter.