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US 11,333,074 B2Granted
Liquid propellant rocket engine turbopump drain
AssigneeAerojet Rocketdyne, Inc.
InventorNeil H. Orr
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A liquid propellant rocket engine includes a pump that is disposed along a central axis. The pump includes a purge system, a collection annulus in fluid communication with the purge system, and a drain. The collection annulus has an outer diameter wall, an inner diameter wall, and an end wall. The end wall defines an annular channel that has a channel depth that varies circumferentially. The drain opens to the collection annulus. At the drain, the annular channel has a lowest point at which the channel depth is maximum depth.
Claims16
A liquid propellant rocket engine comprising:
- a pump disposed along a central axis, the pump including
- a purge system,
- a collection annulus in fluid communication with the purge system, the collection annulus having an outer diameter wall, an inner diameter wall, and an axial end wall, the axial end wall having a first axial end wall section extending from the inner diameter wall and a second axial end wall section extending from the outer diameter wall, the first axial end wall section and the second axial end wall section extending to, respectively, an inner diameter edge and an outer diameter edge of a variable depth channel that varies circumferentially, the variable depth channel being axially recessed from the first axial end wall section and the second axial end wall section, and
- a drain that fluidly couples with the variable depth channel at a maximum depth location of the variable depth channel to facilitate gravitational flow of a fluid to and through the drain.
1 more element
A turbopump comprising:
- a fuel pump portion disposed along a central axis;
- an oxidizer pump portion disposed along the central axis;
- a purge system located between the fuel pump portion and the oxidizer pump portion;
- a collection annulus in fluid communication with the purge system, the collection annulus having an outer diameter wall, an inner diameter wall, and an axial end wall perpendicular to the central axis, the axial end wall having a first axial end wall section extending from the inner diameter wall and a second axial end wall section extending from the outer diameter wall, the first axial end wall section and the second axial end wall section extending to, respectively, an inner diameter edge and an outer diameter edge of a variable depth channel that varies circumferentially, the variable depth channel being axially recessed from the first axial end wall section and the second axial end wall section, the variable depth channel having a channel depth that varies circumferentially between a maximum depth and a minimum depth, and a ratio of the maximum depth to the minimum depth is from 2:1 to 5:1;
- and
- a drain that opens at the maximum depth location of the variable depth channel to facilitate gravitational flow of a fluid to and through the drain.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.