DOCSLIB.ORG

Design of a Dual-Expander Aerospike Nozzle Rocket

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Design of a Dual-Expander Aerospike Nozzle Rocket DESIGN OF A DUAL-EXPANDER AEROSPIKE NOZZLE ROCKET ENGINE by ERIC STEPHEN MCVAY RICHARD D. BRANAM, COMMITTEE CHAIR JOHN BAKER PATRICK R. LECLAIR A THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2016 Copyright Eric Stephen McVay 2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT The University of Alabama’s Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics Department is developing a computational dual-expander aerospike nozzle (DEAN) upper stage rocket engine to demonstrate the engine’s performance capabilities and to establish a model by which the DEAN can be built. This research expands the base model developed by the Air Force Institute of Technology to more accurately represent the physics involved in both the fluid flow and geometrical properties of the engine. The DEAN engine was modeled using NASA’s Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) and Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) software. The methodology implemented in this research was validated by modeling the RL- 10A-3-3A upper stage engine in NPSS and comparing resulting outputs with NASA’s ROCket Engine Transient Simulator (ROCETS) analysis. The DEAN uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as its propellant and is being designed to produce a thrust of 30,000 [lbf] and a specific impulse of at least 465.5 [s], at an oxidizer-to-fuel ratio of 5.88, while also remaining within the size envelope of the RL-10B-2 upper stage engine. The performance and size objectives were established to meet the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Advanced Upper Stage Engine Program (AUSEP) need for an upper stage rocket engine to replace the aging RL-10 series engines that have been in production since the 1960s. Results indicate that optimal performance for the feasible solution space examined in this research occurs at an expansion ratio of 30, a throat area of 23 [in2], and a characteristic length, L*, of 90 [in]. The optimal DEAN design point was ii shown to achieve a thrust of more than 5,000 [lbf] greater than the RL-10B-2, a Isp of 1.8 [s] greater, and a significantly reduced size envelope. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS a = cooling channel half-spacing �!! = speed of sound of H2 �!! = speed of sound of O2 A = cross-sectional area Ac = chamber area !! = chamber contraction ratio !! Ae = nozzle exit area Aphys = annular flow area At = throat area AR = cooling channel aspect ratio b = width of cross-sectional area c = effective exhaust velocity c* = characteristic velocity �!" = chamber ratio coefficient �! = nozzle truncation factor �! = heat capacity of the fluid Cd = discharge coefficient CF = thrust coefficient CEA = Chemical Equilibrium with Applications iv CET93 = Chemical Equilibrium with Transport Properties CV = cooling volume d = depth of cross-sectional area dhyd = hydraulic diameter D = diameter Dc = chamber diameter DEAN = dual-expander aerospike nozzle f = Darcy friction factor FPT = fluid property table g0 = gravity constant Δh = change in enthalpy h = enthalpy h = cooling channel height hgr = hot gas heat transfer coefficient, Bartz equation hl = liquid heat transfer coefficient, Colburn equation �! = pump head pressure rise Isp = specific impulse k = thermal conductivity K = loss-factor L = length L* = characteristic length Lc = chamber length Le = engine length v Ln = nozzle length LOX = liquid oxygen LH2 = liquid hydrogen LCH4 = liquid methane LRPS = liquid rocket propulsion system m = mass mf = final mass mo = initial mass � = mass flow rate � = molar mass M = Mach number Me = exit Mach number n = number of channels NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration NIST = National Institute of Standards and Technology NPSS = Numerical Propulsion System Simulation O/F = oxidizer-to-fuel ratio ΔP = pressure drop Pa = ambient pressure Pc = chamber pressure Pe = exit pressure Pe/Pc = pressure ratio �!" = turbine inlet pressure vi �!" = turbine discharge pressure �!,!" = turbine pressure ratio � = heat flow rate � = gas constant Re = Reynolds number ROCCID = ROCket Combustor Interactive Design ROCETS = ROCket Engine Transient Simulator RTE = Rocket Thermal Evaluation rc = chamber radius rt = throat radius SA = surface area SRPS = solid rocket propulsion system t = cooling channel-combustion chamber wall thickness T = temperature TDK = Two-Dimensional Kinetics �! = total temperature Tc = combustion temperature T/W = thrust-to-weight ratio ΔV = change in velocity v = velocity Ve = exhaust velocity Vc = chamber volume w = cooling channel half-width vii x = axial position y = surface contour equation α = nozzle half-angle ε = expansion ratio γc = ratio of specific heats of combustion in chamber ηP = pump efficiency factor ηT = turbine efficiency factor λ = nozzle efficiency factor µ = absolute viscosity �! = Bartz equation correction factor �!"#$ = Colburn equation correction factor for tube radius of curvature ρ = density viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Richard Branam, my research advisor and committee chair, for his guidance, encouragement, and support throughout this research. I would like to thank Dr. John Baker for sitting on my research committee and, more importantly, for reestablishing the astronautics coursework and research foundations within the Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics department. Thank you to Dr. Patrick LeClair for sitting on my research committee and for being patient with my constant questions regarding relativity, physics, and metaphysics. Thanks to Dylan Stapp, my research colleague and lab mate, for the wise words and support throughout this endeavor – “coffee is my working fluid.” I would like to thank The University of Alabama Graduate School for providing me the Graduate Council Fellowship, which allowed me to pursue my master’s degree and complete this research. Finally, a special thank you to my beautiful wife Allyssa – your love, support, and sacrifice has been the glue for our family over these past five years; I cannot wait to continue our journey together. ix CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS ........................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... xiv I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1 I.1 Motivation .............................................................................................................................. 3 I.2 Research Objectives ............................................................................................................... 5 II. BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................ 8 II.1 Current Upper Stage Rocket Engines ................................................................................... 8 II.2 Rocket Engine Thermodynamic Cycles ............................................................................... 9 II.3 Rocket Engine and Nozzle Performance ............................................................................ 14 II.4 Rocket Engine Components ................................................................................................ 16 A. Propellant Feed System ................................................................................................. 17 B. Turbomachinery ............................................................................................................. 19 C. Injector ........................................................................................................................... 23 D. Combustion Chamber .................................................................................................... 27 E. Cooling Jacket ................................................................................................................ 32 II.5 Dual Expander Aerospike Nozzle ....................................................................................... 39 II.6 Previous DEAN Research ................................................................................................... 41 x A. David F. Martin, AFIT .................................................................................................. 42 B. Joseph R. Simmons, AFIT ............................................................................................. 42 C. Joshua N. Hall, AFIT ..................................................................................................... 43 D. Michael D. Moen, AFIT ................................................................................................ 43 III. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................. 44 III.1 Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) ..........................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Einicke Diplom.Pdf
    Zum Erlangen des akademischen Grades DIPLOMINGENIEUR (Dipl.-Ing.) Betreuer: Dr. Christian Bach Verantwortlicher Hochschullehrer: Prof. Dr. techn. Martin Tajmar Tag der Einreichung: 20.04.2021 Erster Gutachter: Prof. Dr. techn. Martin Tajmar Zweiter Gutachter: Dr. Christian Bach Hiermit erkläre ich, dass ich die von mir dem Institut für Luft-und Raumfahrttechnik der Fakultät Maschinenwesen eingereichte Diplomarbeit zum Thema Mischungsverhältnis- und Brennkammerdruckregelung eines Expander-Bleed Raketentriebwerks mit Reinforcement Learning (Mixture Ratio and Combustion Chamber Pressure Control of an Expander-Bleed Rocket Engine with Reinforcement Learning) selbstständig verfasst und keine anderen als die angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel benutzt sowie Zitate kenntlich gemacht habe. Berlin, 20.04.2021 Karina Einicke Contents Nomenclature iv Acronyms vii 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Motivation . .1 1.2. Objectives and Approach . .2 2. Fundamentals of Liquid Rocket Engines 3 2.1. Control Loops . .5 2.1.1. Open-Loop Control . .5 2.1.2. Closed-Loop Control . .5 2.1.3. Reusable Liquid Rocket Engine Control . .6 2.2. Control Valves . .8 2.2.1. Flow Characteristics . .9 2.2.2. Valve Types . .9 2.3. Liquid Rocket Engine Control: Historical Background . 11 2.4. Summary . 13 3. LUMEN 15 3.1. LUMEN Components . 15 3.2. Operating Points . 17 3.3. EcosimPro/ESPSS Model . 18 3.3.1. LUMEN System Analysis . 21 3.3.2. LUMEN System Validation . 26 3.4. Summary . 27 4. Reinforcement Learning 28 4.1. Fundamentals of Reinforcement Learning . 28 4.2. Reinforcement Learning Algorithms . 31 4.2.1. Model-based and Model-free Reinforcement Learning . 31 4.2.2. Policy Optimization .
    [Show full text]
  • The SKYLON Spaceplane
    The SKYLON Spaceplane Borg K.⇤ and Matula E.⇤ University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA This report outlines the major technical aspects of the SKYLON spaceplane as a final project for the ASEN 5053 class. The SKYLON spaceplane is designed as a single stage to orbit vehicle capable of lifting 15 mT to LEO from a 5.5 km runway and returning to land at the same location. It is powered by a unique engine design that combines an air- breathing and rocket mode into a single engine. This is achieved through the use of a novel lightweight heat exchanger that has been demonstrated on a reduced scale. The program has received funding from the UK government and ESA to build a full scale prototype of the engine as it’s next step. The project is technically feasible but will need to overcome some manufacturing issues and high start-up costs. This report is not intended for publication or commercial use. Nomenclature SSTO Single Stage To Orbit REL Reaction Engines Ltd UK United Kingdom LEO Low Earth Orbit SABRE Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine SOMA SKYLON Orbital Maneuvering Assembly HOTOL Horizontal Take-O↵and Landing NASP National Aerospace Program GT OW Gross Take-O↵Weight MECO Main Engine Cut-O↵ LACE Liquid Air Cooled Engine RCS Reaction Control System MLI Multi-Layer Insulation mT Tonne I. Introduction The SKYLON spaceplane is a single stage to orbit concept vehicle being developed by Reaction Engines Ltd in the United Kingdom. It is designed to take o↵and land on a runway delivering 15 mT of payload into LEO, in the current D-1 configuration.
    [Show full text]
  • Rocket Propulsion Fundamentals 2
    https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20140002716 2019-08-29T14:36:45+00:00Z Liquid Propulsion Systems – Evolution & Advancements Launch Vehicle Propulsion & Systems LPTC Liquid Propulsion Technical Committee Rick Ballard Liquid Engine Systems Lead SLS Liquid Engines Office NASA / MSFC All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted, unless for course participation and to a paid course student, in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of AIAA and/or course instructor. Contact the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Professional Development Program, Suite 500, 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA 20191-4344 Modules 1. Rocket Propulsion Fundamentals 2. LRE Applications 3. Liquid Propellants 4. Engine Power Cycles 5. Engine Components Module 1: Rocket Propulsion TOPICS Fundamentals • Thrust • Specific Impulse • Mixture Ratio • Isp vs. MR • Density vs. Isp • Propellant Mass vs. Volume Warning: Contents deal with math, • Area Ratio physics and thermodynamics. Be afraid…be very afraid… Terms A Area a Acceleration F Force (thrust) g Gravity constant (32.2 ft/sec2) I Impulse m Mass P Pressure Subscripts t Time a Ambient T Temperature c Chamber e Exit V Velocity o Initial state r Reaction ∆ Delta / Difference s Stagnation sp Specific ε Area Ratio t Throat or Total γ Ratio of specific heats Thrust (1/3) Rocket thrust can be explained using Newton’s 2nd and 3rd laws of motion. 2nd Law: a force applied to a body is equal to the mass of the body and its acceleration in the direction of the force.
    [Show full text]
  • Materials for Liquid Propulsion Systems
    https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20160008869 2019-08-29T17:47:59+00:00Z CHAPTER 12 Materials for Liquid Propulsion Systems John A. Halchak Consultant, Los Angeles, California James L. Cannon NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama Corey Brown Aerojet-Rocketdyne, West Palm Beach, Florida 12.1 Introduction Earth to orbit launch vehicles are propelled by rocket engines and motors, both liquid and solid. This chapter will discuss liquid engines. The heart of a launch vehicle is its engine. The remainder of the vehicle (with the notable exceptions of the payload and guidance system) is an aero structure to support the propellant tanks which provide the fuel and oxidizer to feed the engine or engines. The basic principle behind a rocket engine is straightforward. The engine is a means to convert potential thermochemical energy of one or more propellants into exhaust jet kinetic energy. Fuel and oxidizer are burned in a combustion chamber where they create hot gases under high pressure. These hot gases are allowed to expand through a nozzle. The molecules of hot gas are first constricted by the throat of the nozzle (de-Laval nozzle) which forces them to accelerate; then as the nozzle flares outwards, they expand and further accelerate. It is the mass of the combustion gases times their velocity, reacting against the walls of the combustion chamber and nozzle, which produce thrust according to Newton’s third law: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. [1] Solid rocket motors are cheaper to manufacture and offer good values for their cost.
    [Show full text]
  • Interstellar Probe on Space Launch System (Sls)
    INTERSTELLAR PROBE ON SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM (SLS) David Alan Smith SLS Spacecraft/Payload Integration & Evolution (SPIE) NASA-MSFC December 13, 2019 0497 SLS EVOLVABILITY FOUNDATION FOR A GENERATION OF DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION 322 ft. Up to 313ft. 365 ft. 325 ft. 365 ft. 355 ft. Universal Universal Launch Abort System Stage Adapter 5m Class Stage Adapter Orion 8.4m Fairing 8.4m Fairing Fairing Long (Up to 90’) (up to 63’) Short (Up to 63’) Interim Cryogenic Exploration Exploration Exploration Propulsion Stage Upper Stage Upper Stage Upper Stage Launch Vehicle Interstage Interstage Interstage Stage Adapter Core Stage Core Stage Core Stage Solid Solid Evolved Rocket Rocket Boosters Boosters Boosters RS-25 RS-25 Engines Engines SLS Block 1 SLS Block 1 Cargo SLS Block 1B Crew SLS Block 1B Cargo SLS Block 2 Crew SLS Block 2 Cargo > 26 t (57k lbs) > 26 t (57k lbs) 38–41 t (84k-90k lbs) 41-44 t (90k–97k lbs) > 45 t (99k lbs) > 45 t (99k lbs) Payload to TLI/Moon Launch in the late 2020s and early 2030s 0497 IS THIS ROCKET REAL? 0497 SLS BLOCK 1 CONFIGURATION Launch Abort System (LAS) Utah, Alabama, Florida Orion Stage Adapter, California, Alabama Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle RL10 Engine Lockheed Martin, 5 Segment Solid Rocket Aerojet Rocketdyne, Louisiana, KSC Florida Booster (2) Interim Cryogenic Northrop Grumman, Propulsion Stage (ICPS) Utah, KSC Boeing/United Launch Alliance, California, Alabama Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter Teledyne Brown Engineering, California, Alabama Core Stage & Avionics Boeing Louisiana, Alabama RS-25 Engine (4)
    [Show full text]
  • IAF Space Propulsion Symposium 2019
    IAF Space Propulsion Symposium 2019 Held at the 70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2019) Washington, DC, USA 21 -25 October 2019 Volume 1 of 2 ISBN: 978-1-7138-1491-7 Printed from e-media with permission by: Curran Associates, Inc. 57 Morehouse Lane Red Hook, NY 12571 Some format issues inherent in the e-media version may also appear in this print version. Copyright© (2019) by International Astronautical Federation All rights reserved. Printed with permission by Curran Associates, Inc. (2020) For permission requests, please contact International Astronautical Federation at the address below. International Astronautical Federation 100 Avenue de Suffren 75015 Paris France Phone: +33 1 45 67 42 60 Fax: +33 1 42 73 21 20 www.iafastro.org Additional copies of this publication are available from: Curran Associates, Inc. 57 Morehouse Lane Red Hook, NY 12571 USA Phone: 845-758-0400 Fax: 845-758-2633 Email: [email protected] Web: www.proceedings.com TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME 1 PROPULSION SYSTEM (1) BLUE WHALE 1: A NEW DESIGN APPROACH FOR TURBOPUMPS AND FEED SYSTEM ELEMENTS ON SOUTH KOREAN MICRO LAUNCHERS ............................................................................ 1 Dongyoon Shin KEYNOTE: PROMETHEUS: PRECURSOR OF LOW-COST ROCKET ENGINE ......................................... 2 Jérôme Breteau ASSESSMENT OF MON-25/MMH PROPELLANT SYSTEM FOR DEEP-SPACE ENGINES ...................... 3 Huu Trinh 60 YEARS DLR LAMPOLDSHAUSEN – THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AND TEST SITE FOR CHEMICAL SPACE PROPULSION SYSTEMS ....................................................................................... 9 Anja Frank, Marius Wilhelm, Stefan Schlechtriem FIRING TESTS OF LE-9 DEVELOPMENT ENGINE FOR H3 LAUNCH VEHICLE ................................... 24 Takenori Maeda, Takashi Tamura, Tadaoki Onga, Teiu Kobayashi, Koichi Okita DEVELOPMENT STATUS OF BOOSTER STAGE LIQUID ROCKET ENGINE OF KSLV-II PROGRAM .......................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Fuel and Oxidizer Feed Systems
    Fuel and Oxidizer Feed Systems Zachary Hein, Den Donahou, Andrew Doornink, Mack Bailey, John Fieler 1 1 Design Selection Recap Fuel Selection Fuel: Ethanol C2H5OH -Potential Biofuel -Low mixture ratio with LOX -Good specific impulse -Easy to get Oxidizer: Liquid Oxygen LOX -Smaller tank needed (Compared to gaseous O2) -Can be pressurized -Lowest oxidizer mixture ratio -Provides Highest specific impulse 2 Design Selection Recap Thrust Chamber Thrust Chamber Selections ● Injector: Like Impinging Doublet ● Cooling System: Regenerative Cooling ● Thrust Chamber Material: Haynes 230 3 Design Selection Recap Thrust Chamber Thrust Chamber Selections ● Injector: Like Impinging Doublet ● Cooling System: Regenerative Cooling ● Thrust Chamber Material: Haynes 230 Huzel, Dieter, and David Huang. "Introduction." Modern Engineering for Design of Liquid-Propellant Rocket Engines. Vol. 147. Washington D.C.: AIAA, 1992. 7-22. Print. 4 Design Selection Recap Thrust Chamber Thrust Chamber Selections ● Injector: Like Impinging Doublet ● Cooling System: Regenerative Cooling ● Thrust Chamber Material: Haynes 230 Huzel, Dieter, and David Huang. "Introduction." Modern Engineering for Design of Liquid-Propellant Rocket Engines. Vol. 147. Washington D.C.: AIAA, 1992. 7-22. Print. http://www.k-makris.gr/RocketTechnology/ThrustChamber/Thrust_Chamber.htm 5 Design Selection Recap Thrust Chamber Thrust Chamber Selections ● Injector: Like Impinging Doublet ● Cooling System: Regenerative Cooling ● Thrust Chamber Material: Haynes 230 Huzel, Dieter, and David Huang. "Introduction." Modern Engineering for Design of Liquid-Propellant Rocket Engines. Vol. 147. Washington D.C.: AIAA, 1992. 7-22. Print. http://www.k-makris.gr/RocketTechnology/ThrustChamber/Thrust_Chamber.htm http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/haynes-seamless-pipe_1715659362.html 6 Turbo Pump Basics Turbo Pumps provide pressurization to gaseous fuel components to required pressures and mixture ratios.
    [Show full text]
  • Delta IV Parker Solar Probe Mission Booklet
    A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy what is the source of high-energy solar particles. MISSION rocket will deliver NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to Parker Solar Probe will make 24 elliptical orbits an interplanetary trajectory to the sun. Liftoff of the sun and use seven flybys of Venus to will occur from Space Launch Complex-37 at shrink the orbit closer to the sun during the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. NASA seven-year mission. selected ULA’s Delta IV Heavy for its unique MISSION ability to deliver the necessary energy to begin The probe will fly seven times closer to the the Parker Solar Probe’s journey to the sun. sun than any spacecraft before, a mere 3.9 million miles above the surface which is about 4 OVERVIEW The Parker percent the distance from the sun to the Earth. Solar Probe will At its closest approach, Parker Solar Probe will make repeated reach a top speed of 430,000 miles per hour journeys into the or 120 miles per second, making it the fastest sun’s corona and spacecraft in history. The incredible velocity trace the flow of is necessary so that the spacecraft does not energy to answer fall into the sun during the close approaches. fundamental Temperatures will climb to 2,500 degrees questions such Fahrenheit, but the science instruments will as why the solar remain at room temperature behind a 4.5-inch- atmosphere is thick carbon composite shield. dramatically Image courtesy of NASA hotter than the The mission was named in honor of Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Design of a 500 Lbf Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Methane Rocket Engine for Suborbital Flight Jesus Eduardo Trillo University of Texas at El Paso, [email protected]
    University of Texas at El Paso DigitalCommons@UTEP Open Access Theses & Dissertations 2016-01-01 Design Of A 500 Lbf Liquid Oxygen And Liquid Methane Rocket Engine For Suborbital Flight Jesus Eduardo Trillo University of Texas at El Paso, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd Part of the Aerospace Engineering Commons, and the Mechanical Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Trillo, Jesus Eduardo, "Design Of A 500 Lbf Liquid Oxygen And Liquid Methane Rocket Engine For Suborbital Flight" (2016). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 767. https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd/767 This is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UTEP. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UTEP. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DESIGN OF A 500 LBF LIQUID OXYGEN AND LIQUID METHANE ROCKET ENGINE FOR SUBORBITAL FLIGHT JESUS EDUARDO TRILLO Master’s Program in Mechanical Engineering APPROVED: Ahsan Choudhuri, Ph.D., Chair Norman Love, Ph.D. Luis Rene Contreras, Ph.D. Charles H. Ambler, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School Copyright © by Jesus Eduardo Trillo 2016 DESIGN OF A 500 LBF LIQUID OXYGEN AND LIQUID METHANE ROCKET ENGINE FOR SUBORBITAL FLIGHT by JESUS EDUARDO TRILLO, B.S.ME THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at El Paso in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Mechanical Engineering THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO December 2016 Acknowledgements Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • An Investigation of the Performance Potential of A
    AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PERFORMANCE POTENTIAL OF A LIQUID OXYGEN EXPANDER CYCLE ROCKET ENGINE by DYLAN THOMAS STAPP RICHARD D. BRANAM, COMMITTEE CHAIR SEMIH M. OLCMEN AJAY K. AGRAWAL A THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2016 Copyright Dylan Thomas Stapp 2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT This research effort sought to examine the performance potential of a dual-expander cycle liquid oxygen-hydrogen engine with a conventional bell nozzle geometry. The analysis was performed using the NASA Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) software to develop a full steady-state model of the engine concept. Validation for the theoretical engine model was completed using the same methodology to build a steady-state model of an RL10A-3- 3A single expander cycle rocket engine with corroborating data from a similar modeling project performed at the NASA Glenn Research Center. Previous research performed at NASA and the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has identified the potential of dual-expander cycle technology to specifically improve the efficiency and capability of upper-stage liquid rocket engines. Dual-expander cycles also eliminate critical failure modes and design limitations present for single-expander cycle engines. This research seeks to identify potential LOX Expander Cycle (LEC) engine designs that exceed the performance of the current state of the art RL10B-2 engine flown on Centaur upper-stages. Results of this research found that the LEC engine concept achieved a 21.2% increase in engine thrust with a decrease in engine length and diameter of 52.0% and 15.8% respectively compared to the RL10B-2 engine.
    [Show full text]
  • Basic Analysis of a LOX/Methane Expander Bleed Engine
    DOI: 10.13009/EUCASS2017-332 7TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE FOR AERONAUTICS AND AEROSPACE SCIENCES (EUCASS) DOI: ADD DOINUMBER HERE Basic Analysis of a LOX/Methane Expander Bleed Engine ? ? ? Marco Leonardi , Francesco Nasuti † and Marcello Onofri ?Sapienza University of Rome Via Eudossiana 18, Rome, Italy [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] · · †Corresponding author Abstract As present trends in rocket engine development recommend overall simplicity and reliability as the main design driver, while preserving high performance, expander cycle engines based on the oxygen-methane pair have been considered as a possible upper stage option. A closed expander cycle is considered for Vega Evolution upper stage, while there are no studies published in the literature on methane-based expander bleed cycles. A basic cycle analysis is presented to evaluate the performance of an oxygen/methane ex- pander bleed cycle for an engine of 100 kN thrust class. Results show the feasibility of the system and its peculiarities with respect to the better known expander bleed cycle based on hydrogen. 1. Introduction The high chamber pressure required to achieve high specific impulse in liquid propellant rocket engines (LRE), has been efficiently obtained by pump-fed systems. Different solutions have been proposed since the beginning of space age and just a few of them has found its own field of application. In these systems the pumps are driven by gas turbines whose power comes from two possible sources: combustion or cooling system. The different needs for the specific applications (booster, sustainer or upper stage of different classes of rockets) led to classify pump-fed LRE systems in open and closed cycles, which differ because of turbine discharge pressure.14, 16 Closed cycles are those providing the best performance because the whole propellant mass flow rate is exploited in the main chamber.
    [Show full text]
  • UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Minimizing hydraulic losses in additively-manufactured swirl coaxial rocket injectors via analysis-driven design methods Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7n51c078 Author Morrow, David Publication Date 2020 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Minimizing hydraulic losses in additively-manufactured swirl coaxial rocket injectors via analysis-driven design methods A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering by David Morrow 2020 c Copyright by David Morrow 2020 ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Minimizing hydraulic losses in additively-manufactured swirl coaxial rocket injectors via analysis-driven design methods by David Morrow Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering University of California, Los Angeles, 2020 Professor Raymond M. Spearrin, Chair Additive manufacturing (AM) has matured significantly over the past decade and become a highly attractive tool for reducing manufacturing complexity and removing traditional de- sign constraints. This is particularly desirable for rocket combustion devices which often feature hundreds of individual parts with precise tolerances. The degree to which AM can be used to improve combustion device performance, however, has been less rigorously ex- plored. In this work, hydraulic performance impacts associated with and enabled by AM are assessed for a liquid bi-propellant swirl coaxial injector. Specifically, a single-element liquid oxygen/kerosene injector based on a canonical design was manufactured from inconel using Direct Metal Laser Sintering at two different coaxial recess depths. Cold-flow testing for the as-manufactured baseline injector found a reduction in the designed discharge coefficients, which is primarily attributed to increased surface roughness inherent in the AM process.
    [Show full text]