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(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2015/0007549 A1 Bossard (43) Pub

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(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2015/0007549 A1 Bossard (43) Pub US 2015.0007549A1 (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2015/0007549 A1 BOSSard (43) Pub. Date: Jan. 8, 2015 (54) ROTARY TURBO ROCKET (52) U.S. Cl. CPC. F02K9/00 (2013.01); F02K3/00 (2013.01) (71) Applicant: John Bossard, Huntsville, AL (US) USPC ............................................... 60/204; 60/246 (72) Inventor: John Bossard, Huntsville, AL (US) (57) ABSTRACT (21) Appl. No.: 14/191,926 (22) Filed: Feb. 27, 2014 A turbojet is combined with a co-axially integrated rotary 9 rocket to form a propulsion system called a Rotary Turbo Related U.S. Application Data Rocket that can function as a turbojet, as an afterburning turbojet, as an Air Turbo Rocket, or as a rotary rocket. The (60) Provisional application No. 61/772,821, filed on Mar. Rotary Turbo Rocket can operate in any of these propulsion 5, 2013. modes singularly, or in any combination of these propulsion Publication Classification modes, and can transition continuously or abruptly between operating modes. The Rotary Turbo Rocket can span the Zero (51) Int. Cl. to orbital flight Velocity speed range and/or operate continu FO2K9/00 (2006.01) ously as it transitions from atmospheric to space flight by FO2K 3/00 (2006.01) transitioning between operating modes. 71 7 6 5 4 52 53 2 8 1 CLC-E.7 At// // E s. 7 9 10 11 115 112 113 Patent Application Publication Jan. 8, 2015 Sheet 1 of 4 US 2015/0007549 A1 EEEE-5- 7s Patent Application Publication Jan. 8, 2015 Sheet 2 of 4 US 2015/0007549 A1 22 4. 112 ci 113 Aftrocket Pump Disk Forward Rotary Rocket Case Closure Assembly i. y I . D — — — :. / N \ C 72 73 75a 75 74 N 7 Fig. 2 Patent Application Publication Jan. 8, 2015 Sheet 3 of 4 US 2015/0007549 A1 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Patent Application Publication Jan. 8, 2015 Sheet 4 of 4 US 2015/0007549 A1 59 Fig. 6 US 2015/0007549 A1 Jan. 8, 2015 ROTARY TURBO ROCKET both air-breathing and rocket propulsion modes, no advan tage is taken of combining the required turbomachinery of the BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION jet and rocket engines, and thus the concept requires separate 0001 1. Field of the Invention turbomachinery assemblies for the jet and rocket engines, 0002 The current invention relates to a class of propulsive which greatly increases complexity and mass of the overall engines known as turbine-based-combined-cycle (TBCC) engine. engines and more particularly to a turbojet combined with a 0008 Rotary rocket engines use the rotation of a combus rotary rocket. tion chamber, powered by the release of exhaust gases from 0003 2. Description of the Prior Art the combustion chamber, to pump and mix propellants. The 0004. The need for endo-atomospheric, trans-atmo rotational force comes from a tangential component of rocket spheric, and exo-atomospheric Vehicles has created interestin thrust, which is created by canting one or more rocket nozzles propulsion systems that can operate in, through, and out of the in the rotary rocket assembly. U.S. Pat. No. 2,479,829 and atmosphere. A number of propulsion systems designed to U.S. Pat. No. 2,395,114 disclose rotating combustion cham operate in atmosphere have been proposed. Turbine-based bers in which rotation is produced by the passage of exhaust combined-cycle (TBCC) engines, for example, are propul gases through curved nozzles and against Vanes. U.S. Pat. No. sive engines that have elements of both turbojet engines, 6.212.876 discloses a rocket motor with an ultracentrifugal which use atmospheric air as the main constituent of their liquid pump driven by a tangential component of the primary reaction mass, and rocket engines, which carry all of their thrust from multiple combustion chambers by means of tilted reaction mass. nozzles or vanes. Rotation of combustion chambers and 0005. An Air Turbo Rocket (ATR) is a type of TBCC pump enhances both propellant mixing and combustion engine which combines a conventional Solid or liquid propel chamber cooling by the Coriolis-effect and centripetal accel lant rocket-type gas generator with a conventional turbojet in eration. Rotary rockets provide the advantage of eliminating Such a way that heated, fuel rich gas from the rocket is used to the weight and complexity of separate, non-integrated pro power the mechanical compression of air from the atmo pellant pumps compared to pump-fed combustion chambers, sphere. This fuel rich gas and the compressed air are then and the weight of high-pressure propellant tanks when com mixed and burned in a turbojet-type afterburner. The air pared to pressure-fed combustion chambers. Because the breathing portion of the ATR uses atmospheric oxygen to rocket chambers are integral with the pump elements, rotary burn the product of fuel rich combustion by the rocket in a rockets also eliminate the need for high-pressure, high-speed combustion chamber that is analogous to an afterburner in a rotating seals, which is a very challenging and expensive turbojet engine. An advantage of an ATR is relatively high issue for conventional turbopump-fed rocket engines. One thrust generation at high speeds, high thrust per unit frontal disadvantage of a rotary rocket is that there is no rotation at area, and a compact and lightweight engine configuration. A start-up So Some means other than rotation must be provided primary disadvantage of an ATR is its high propellant con for pumping propellants at engine start. Another disadvantage sumption rate, relative to a turbojet. U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,803 of rotary rockets is that the rocket chambers are heavier than discloses a solid propellant air turbo rocket that can operate in conventional rocket chambers because they must be designed a ramjet mode by jettisoning a solid propellant rocket-driven to withstand the centrifugal forces generated during the rota turbo-compressor. tion of the rocket chambers. 0006 EP 0403372 B 1 discloses a combined turbo-rocket 0009. Despite the development of the aforementioned pro ramjet engine capable of operating in a combined turbo pulsion technologies, high speed endo-atomospheric, trans rocket mode or a ramjet mode. The engine uses turbopumps to atmospheric and exo-atomospheric Vehicles powered by pump fuel and oxidizer to a gas generator that drives a com TBCC engines have not yet come into widespread use. TBCC pressor for turbo-rocket mode operation or to radial injectors engines which are only air-breathing are limited in their maxi for ramjet mode operation. The engine operates in turbo mum flight speeds and altitudes, and cannot fly exo-atmo rocket mode at low Mach speeds and Switches to ramjet mode spherically. Alternatively, rocket engines have too high of a at high Mach speeds. Although the engine uses stored oxygen propellant-usage rate for long-range endo or trans-atmo as an oxidizer, this engine uses atmospheric oxygen in all spheric flights. Thus, there is a continuing need for a new operational modes and is therefore not capable of operation TBCC engine capable of continuously providing propulsion from take-off to landing for endo, trans, and exo-atomo outside the atmosphere. spheric flight operations. 0007 U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,809 discloses a propulsion engine designed to reversibly change from air-breathing, non-air-breathing, and combined modes. The engine com SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION prises a rocket engine having an annular combustion chamber 0010. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention disposed inside the central body and downstream from the preferably seek to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more air-breathing combustion chamber of a jet engine. The rocket deficiencies, disadvantages or issues in the art, Such as those engine has a streamlined central body portion extending the identified above, singly or in any combination by providing a central body of the air-breathing combustion chamber to form Rotary Turbo Rocket (RTR) comprising a turbojet co-axially a spike that penetrates into the throat of the external nozzle. integrated with a rotary rocket. The turbojet may operate in The combustion chamber of the rocket engine and the asso any mode available to turbojet engines, including SubSonic, ciated streamlined central body are integrated in the main transonic, and SuperSonic flight speeds, by adapting the air nozzle and penetrate into the main nozzle at the throat while inlet and turbomachinery operation according to known being shaped to ensure aerodynamic continuity of the air methods. The rotary rocket may be supplied with fuel and breathing stream from the air-breathing combustion chamber oxidizer at any mixture ratio for use at any time whether in being ejected through the main noZZle. Although this engine atmosphere or not. When operated with a fuel-rich mixture concept combines a jet engine with a rocket engine, allowing ratio, the rotary rocket functions as a fuel-injector for an US 2015/0007549 A1 Jan. 8, 2015 afterburning turbojet mode. Furthermore, when using a fuel nying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the invention. rich mixture ratio, the rotary rocket can produce shaft power In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements. to drive the compressor, burning the fuel-rich mixture in the 0020 FIG. 1 illustrates the basic configuration of one afterburner, and thus allowing the RTR to operate in an Air embodiment of a Rotary Turbo Rocket (RTR) comprising a Turbo Rocket mode. Accordingly, the RTR is able to operate turbojet and a rotary rocket 7 contained in an outer casing 71. as a turbojet, an afterburning turbojet, an Air Turbo Rocket, a The turbojet comprises a compressor 11, a combustion cham rotary rocket, together or separately, in any combination.
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