Rocket engine's thrust chamber assembly
AssigneeLaboratoire Reaction Dynamics Inc.
InventorBachar Elzein
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rocket engine has a combustion chamber having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet fluidly connectable to a source of oxidizer, the outlet in fluid communication with an environment outside the combustion chamber for expelling combustion gases, a first fuel having a first solid propellant and a second fuel having a second solid propellant, the first and second fuels located within the combustion chamber and configured to be exposed to the oxidizer injected in the combustion chamber via the inlet, the first solid propellant having a regression rate greater than that of the second solid propellant.
Claims17
A rocket engine comprising a casing circumferentially extending around a longitudinal axis to circumscribe a combustion chamber, the combustion chamber extending along the longitudinal axis, the combustion chamber having an inlet and an outlet, the combustion chamber defining a fuel-receiving volume, the inlet fluidly connectable to a source of a catalyzed oxidizer, the outlet in fluid communication with an environment outside the combustion chamber for expelling combustion gases, a solid fuel located within the fuel-receiving volume, the solid fuel including a first solid fuel and a second solid fuel configured to be exposed to the oxidizer injected in the combustion chamber via the inlet, the inlet including at least one aperture defined through the casing and located axially between the fuel-receiving volume of the combustion chamber and the outlet of the combustion chamber relative to the longitudinal axis, the first and second solid fuels are axially offset from one another relative to the longitudinal axis, the solid fuel burning along a regression direction parallel to the longitudinal axis, the first solid fuel located in front of the second solid fuel, and closer to the outlet of the combustion chamber than the second solid fuel, such that the first solid fuel is burned before the second solid fuel, the solid fuel having an axial end face exposed to the oxidizer, the solid fuel having a first phase in which the axial end face is defined by the first solid fuel and a second phase in which the first solid fuel is burned and the axial end face is defined by the second solid fuel, the first solid fuel and the second solid fuel differing by one or more rheoloqical properties such that a first mass flow rate of combustion gases generated by the solid fuel in the first phase is equal to a second mass flow rate of combustion gases generated by the solid fuel in the second phase while a mass flow rate of the oxidizer in the combustion chamber is constant throughout the first phase and the second phase.
A rocket engine comprising a combustion chamber extending along a longitudinal axis and having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet fluidly connectable to a source of an oxidizer, the outlet in fluid communication with an environment outside the combustion chamber for expelling combustion gases, a solid fuel within the combustion chamber, the solid fuel having a face configured to, in use, be exposed to the oxidizer, the inlet being axially offset from the face and located axially between the face of the solid fuel and the outlet relative to the longitudinal axis, the solid fuel having a rheological property varying therethrough along a regression direction being parallel to the longitudinal axis, the solid fuel having a plurality of layers including a first layer and a second layer axially offset from one another, an axial end face of the solid fuel exposed to the oxidizer being defined by the first layer in a first phase of the solid fuel and being defined by the second layer in a second phase of the solid fuel, the first layer being burned in the second phase, the first layer and the second layer differing by the rheological property such that a first mass flow rate of combustion gases generated by the solid fuel in the first phase is equal to a second mass flow rate of combustion gases generated by the solid fuel in the second phase while a mass flow rate of the oxidizer in the combustion chamber is constant throughout the first phase and the second phase.
A rocket engine system, comprising:
- an oxidizer tank containing a liquid oxidizer;
- a catalyst having an inlet fluidly connected to the oxidizer tank and an outlet;
- a rocket engine having a combustion chamber extending along a longitudinal axis, the combustion chamber having a chamber inlet fluidly connected to the outlet of the catalyst for receiving a catalyzed oxidizer and a chamber outlet for outputting combustion gases;
- and a solid fuel within the combustion chamber, the solid fuel having a viscosity that decreases in a regression direction being parallel to the longitudinal axis, the chamber inlet located axially between the solid fuel and the chamber outlet relative to the longitudinal axis, a distribution of the viscosity of the solid fuel in the regression direction selected such that a mass flow rate of combustion gases generated by the solid fuel remains substantially constant with an increase of a volume of the combustion chamber free of the solid fuel as the solid fuel is being burned while a mass flow rate of the catalyzed oxidizer in the combustion chamber is constant as the solid fuel is being burned.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.