Total Energy At Nozzle Exit For a Nuclear Pulse Engine Calculator

Nuclear pulse engines are a theoretical type of propulsion system that envisions the use of nuclear explosions to generate thrust. This concept is often associated with interstellar spacecraft propulsion. In the context of a nuclear pulse engine, the “nozzle exit” refers to the point where the high-speed products of nuclear explosions are expelled.

The total energy per unit mass at the nozzle exit can be expressed as the sum of the enthalpy and kinetic energy of the nuclear explosion products.

The total energy ($E$) at the nozzle exit can be expressed as:

where,

• E is the Total Energy, i.e sum of kinetic and potential energy
• $h$ is the static enthalpy at the nozzle exit,
• $V$ is the velocity of the exhaust gases relative to the reference frame of the exhaust gases