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US 10,309,344 B2Granted
Stored pressure driven cycle
AssigneeAerojet Rocketdyne, Inc.
InventorsAlan B. Minick, Timothy S. Kokan, Jerrol W. Littles
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A propulsion system according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a pressurant selectively released from a pressure tank to drive a pump to sustain propellant flow for main combustion.
Claims12
A propulsion system, comprising:
- a pressurant selectively released from a pressure tank to a turbine to drive a pump to sustain a propellant flow for main combustion in a thrust chamber assembly after an initial start-up of a rocket engine, wherein the turbine is mechanically coupled to the pump, wherein there is no combustor and no energy enhancing device between the pressure tank and the turbine, wherein the pressurant discharged at an outlet of the turbine is not discharged to the thrust chamber assembly, wherein the pressurant is not in fluid communication with the propellant flow.
A propulsion system, comprising:
- a storage tank storing a propellant;
- a pressure tank storing a pressurant;
- a thrust chamber assembly configured to combust the propellant to generate thrust;
- a turbine fluidly coupled with the pressure tank;
- a pump in fluid communication with the storage tank, wherein the pump is mechanically coupled with the turbine;
- wherein the pump is driven by the turbine, wherein the turbine is driven by a pressurant selectively released from the pressure tank, wherein there is no combustor and no energy enhancing device between the pressure tank and the turbine, to sustain a flow of the propellant for main combustion after an initial start-up of a rocket engine, wherein the pressurant is not in fluid communication with the propellant flow, wherein the pressurant discharged at an outlet of the turbine is not discharged to the thrust chamber assembly.
3 more elements
A method of operating a propulsion system, comprising:
- selectively releasing a pressurant from a pressurant tank to a turbine after an initial start-up of a rocket engine, wherein there is no combustor and no energy enhancing device between the pressure tank and the turbine;
- and driving at least one pump with the turbine to sustain propellant flow for main combustion in a thrust chamber assembly, wherein the pressurant is not in fluid communication with the propellant flow, wherein the pressurant discharged at an outlet of the turbine is not discharged to the thrust chamber assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.