Rocket engine and method for controlling combustion in the rocket engine itself
AssigneeSelex Galileo Limited
InventorDino Petronio
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Supply of a liquid component in a combustion chamber of a rocket engine is controlled by a feed valve provided with an obturator mobile between a pen position and a closed position of at least one supply pipe, which has an inlet that communicates with a tank for containing the liquid component and an outlet that communicates with the combustion chamber; the displacement of the obturator from its closed position to its open position being triggered by a pressurized fluid supplied to the outlet of the supply pipe.
Claims21
Rocket engine comprising:
- a combustion chamber for the combustion of two components, of which one is a fuel and the other is a comburent and of which at least one is in an initial liquid state;
- a exhaust nozzle for the combustion products from the combustion chamber, and, for each said liquid component, an associated container tank and an associated feed valve able to control the supply of the liquid component from the container tank to the combustion chamber, the feed valve in turn comprising a valve body defining a sliding cylinder having a longitudinal axis, at least one inlet for inlet of the liquid component into the sliding cylinder, an outlet for outlet the liquid component from the sliding cylinder into the combustion chamber, an obturator slidably engaged in the sliding cylinder, and thrust means acting axially on a first side of the obturator to move, and normally keep, the is obturator itself into a position to close said inlet;
- and characterized in that it further comprises a primer device to supply the outlet of a pressurized fluid acting axially on a second side of the obturator opposite to the first side to move the obturator against the action of the thrust means from its closed position into a first open position, where the inlet is partially open for enabling the liquid component to enter the sliding cylinder, axially act on said second side against the action of the thrust means, and move the obturator from the first open position to a second open position, where the inlet is completely open.
A method to control combustion in a rocket engine comprising a combustion chamber for the combustion of two components, of which one is a fuel and the other is a comburent and of which at least one is in an initial liquid state, an exhaust nozzle for the combustion products from the combustion chamber and, for each said liquid component, an associated container tank and a associated feed valve to control the supply of the liquid component from the container tank to the combustion chamber, the feed valve in turn comprising a valve body defining a sliding cylinder having a longitudinal axis, at least one inlet for inlet the liquid component into the sliding cylinder, an outlet for outlet the liquid component from the sliding cylinder into the combustion chamber, and an obturator slidably engaged in the sliding cylinder,
- the method comprising the step of:
- displacing the obturator into a position of closing of said inlet, and normally maintaining it in said closed position, via thrust means acting axially on a first side of the obturator itself;
- and being characterized in that it further comprises the steps of:
- supplying to the outlet a pressurized fluid acting axially on a second side of the obturator opposite to the first side to move the obturator against the action of the thrust means from its closed position into a first open position thereof, where the inlet is partially open for enabling the liquid component to enter the sliding cylinder and to act axially on said second side against the action of the thrust means;
- and
- moving the obturator from its first open position into a second open position thereof, where the inlet is completely open, under the thrust of the liquid component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.