The Leon 1: A 3D Printed Liquid Methane/Liquid Oxygen Pressure- FED Rocket Propulsion System A project present to The Faculty of the Department of Aerospace Engineering San Jose State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering By Andres J. Masterman May 2015 approved by Dr. Nikos Mourtos Faculty Advisor © 2015 Andrew J. Masterman ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2 The Designated Project Committee Approves the Project Titled THE LEON 1: A 3D PRINTED LIQUID METHANE/LIQUID OXYGEN PRESSURE-FED ROCKET PROPULSION SYSTEM by Andrew J. Masterman APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY May 2015 Dr. Nikos Mourtos Department of Aerospace Engineering Dr. Periklis Papadopuolos Department of Aerospace Engineering Dr. Kamran Turkoglu Department of Aerospace Engineering ABSTRACT Methane propulsion, until most recently, has been a relatively untapped resource. But with increasing interest in sending humans to the planet Mars, its use in a rocket propulsion system has gone under more study. Its cost, energy density, and manufacturability from the Martian atmosphere make it the most popular choice for such a system. Additionally, for increased simplicity and reliability, a descent or ascent stage for a piloted Martian spacecraft will almost certainly contain a pressure-fed engine cycle. This paper details the background, engineering principles, and preliminary design of such a system, intended to be 3D printed to demonstrate the practice of rapid prototyping. Designed with undergraduate senior Michael Bell, the Leon-1 is San Jose State University’s first 3D printed liquid bipropellant rocket engine that is also geared towards the development of the fuel combination using liquid oxygen (LO2) and liquid methane (LCH4) for Mars mission applications. The project was designed using original calculations, coupled with computer simulations from Rocket Propulsion Analysis (RPA), SolidWorks, and ESI. TABLE OF CONTENTS NOMENCLATURE .................................................................................................................. 1 - 2 1.0 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 3 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................... 3 - 9 2.1 Background and Context ........................................................................................................ 3 2.2Rocket Propulsion Principles ................................................................................................. 7 3.0 PRELIMINARY DESIGN AND APPROACH................................................................. 9 - 17 3.1 Hypergolic vs Cryogenic ...................................................................................................... 10 3.2 The Case for Liquid Methane ............................................................................................... 11 3.3 Analysis of Previous Applications ....................................................................................... 12 3.4 Manufacturing and Testing .................................................................................................. 14 3.5 Scheduling ............................................................................................................................ 15 3.6 Design Methodology and Approach .................................................................................... 17 4.0 CONCEPTUAL DESIGN ............................................................................................... 16 – 36 4.1 Mission Definition ................................................................................................................ 18 4.2 Mission and Design Requirements ....................................................................................... 18 4.3 Mission and Design Parameters ........................................................................................... 18 4.3.1 Thrust ........................................................................................................................ 18 4.3.2 Performance .............................................................................................................. 19 4.3.3 Burn Duration ........................................................................................................... 20 4.3.4 Mixture Ratio ............................................................................................................ 21 4.3.5 Weight ....................................................................................................................... 21 4.3.6 Envelope Size............................................................................................................ 22 4.3.7 Reliability .................................................................................................................. 22 4.3.8 Cost ........................................................................................................................... 22 4.4 Mission Goals ....................................................................................................................... 23 4.3.1 Simplicity .................................................................................................................. 23 4.3.2 Envelope Size............................................................................................................ 24 4.3.3 Performance .............................................................................................................. 24 4.3.4 Cost ........................................................................................................................... 25 4.5 Subsystem Overview ............................................................................................................... 25 4.6 Component Configuration Selection.........................................................................................................26 4.6.1 Combustion Chamber..................................................................................................................27 4.6.2 Nozzle...............................................................................................................................................28 4.6.3 Cooling System..............................................................................................................................29 4.6.4 Injection...........................................................................................................................................30 4.6.5 Ignition Device..............................................................................................................................33 4.6.6 Propellant Feed System...............................................................................................................35 5.0 DETAILED DESIGN...........................................................................................................................36 – 72 5.1 Fluid Thermodynamic and Physical Analysis....................................................................................47 5.1.1 Thermodynamic Combustion Analysis..................................................................................42 5.1.2 Nozzle...............................................................................................................................................48 5.2 Component Design.....................................................................................................................................48 5.2.1 Combustion Chamber..................................................................................................................48 5.2.2 Nozzle...............................................................................................................................................52 5.2.3 Cooling.............................................................................................................................................56 5.2.3.1 Cooling Convective Gas Side Heat Transfer 56 5.2.3.2 Radiation Gas Side Heat Transfer 58 5.2.3.3 Applied Thermal Outputs 58 5.2.3.4 Regenerative Cooling 61 5.2.3.5 Film Cooling 63 5.2.4 Injector.............................................................................................................................................65 5.2.5 Ignition Device..............................................................................................................................68 5.2.6 Propellant Feed System...............................................................................................................69 5.3 Engine Parameters and Performance Figures....................................................................................70 5.3.1 Inputs................................................................................................................................................70 5.3.2 Ideal Performance Data vs Estimated Delivered Performance.......................................70 5.4 CAD Models................................................................................................................................................71 5.5 CFD Simulation..........................................................................................................................................72 6.0 MANUFACTURING AND COST............................................................................................................74