Chemical Reaction During Adiabatic Flow through a Rocket Nozzle

Abstract
An analysis has been carried out for isentropic expansion through a representative rocket nozzle. The rate of change of temperature of an element of gas with distance and time in the vicinity of the nozzle throat is discussed in some detail. By use of Daniels' rate constant for the formation of nitric oxide from nitrogen and oxygen, it is shown that the temperature changes so rapidly that the reaction 2NO⇄O2+N2 produces insignificantly small composition changes below about 2800°K when the temperature in the rocket chamber is 3000°K.