Performance comparison between a full-length and a truncated aerospike nozzle

The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of a full-length aerospike nozzle with that of a nozzle truncated at 20% of the full nozzle length. Calculations were first performed using a straight ramp, and then simulations using the actual contoured spike geometries were performed.;The results of this research showed that the thrust generated by each nozzle was in fact the same, with an error of a mere 0.2%. The main significance of this finding is that a truncated aerospike nozzle is better for air and spacecraft design because it offers a considerably lighter weight requirement for the same performance.