Gas augmented rocket engine
AssigneeUnited Technologies Corporation
InventorsWilliam Brown, Peter Schilhavy
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rocket engine with an augmentation gas system that improves performance of the hypergolic combustion process. The augmentation gas system includes an acoustic cavity manifold mounted between an outer perimeter of an injector face and the combustion chamber. The augmentation gas system injects an augmentation gas active element such as hydrogen or an inactive element such as helium to provide significantly enhanced boundary layer coolant effect to reduce heat loading on the combustion chamber wall and enhance the specific impulse of the rocket engine.
Claims20
An acoustic cavity manifold for a rocket engine comprising:
- a multitude of axially extending acoustic cavities defined about a thrust axis;
- a multitude of augmentation gas openings in communication with each of said multitude of acoustic cavities;
- and
- a circumferential distribution manifold defined about said axis, said circumferential distribution manifold in communication with each of said multitude of augmentation gas openings.
A rocket engine comprising:
- an injector assembly;
- a combustion chamber mounted to said injector assembly, said combustion chamber defined about a thrust axis;
- and
- an acoustic cavity manifold mounted to said injector assembly, said acoustic cavity manifold in communication with said combustion chamber.
A method of increasing the specific impulse efficiency of a rocket engine comprising the steps of:
- (A) injecting an augmentation gas into a combustion chamber through an acoustic cavity manifold along a combustion chamber wall defined about a thrust axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.