# US 2012/0067023 A1 · Rocket engine and method for controlling combustion in the rocket engine itself > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2012/0067023 A1 - Document ID: US20120067023A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 12/975,945 - Filed: 2010-12-22 - Published: 2012-03-22 - Earliest claimed: 2009-12-23 - Assignees: Selex Galileo Limited - Inventors: Dino Petronio - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20120067023A1 ## CPC - F02K 9/58: Propellant feed valves - F02K 9/56: Control - F02K: JET-PROPULSION PLANTS (features of jet-propulsion plants common to gas-turbine plants, air intakes or fuel supply control of air-breathing jet-propulsion plants F02C7/00, F02C9/00) ## 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. ## Claims ### Claim 1 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. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) Rocket engine according to claim 1, wherein the primer device comprises at least one pyrogenic primer to supply a flow of pressurized gas to the outlet. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) Rocket engine according to claim 1, wherein the thrust means are elastic thrust means. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) Rocket engine according to claim 1, wherein the thrust means are shaped so as to exert on the first side of the obturator a thrust lower than a thrust exerted by the pressurized fluid on the second side of the obturator itself. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) Rocket engine according to claim 1, wherein the feed valve further comprises end stop means to stop the obturator in its closed position. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) Rocket engine according to claim 1, wherein the sliding cylinder is laterally limited by a first side wall extending about said longitudinal axis; said inlet being made through the first side wall itself. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) Rocket engine according to claim 1, wherein said outlet is substantially coaxial of said longitudinal axis. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) Rocket engine according to claim 1 comprising sealing means inserted between the obturator and the sliding cylinder to separate in a fluid-tight manner the inlet from the outlet when the obturator is arranged in said closed position. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) Rocket engine according to claim 1, wherein the combustion chamber comprises an injection head facing the sliding cylinder. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) Rocket engine according to claim 9, wherein the injection head comprises an injection plate, which faces said outlet, and has a plurality of openings able to connect the sliding cylinder and the injection head itself to one another. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) Rocket engine according to claim 1, wherein the combustion of the fuel with the comburent generates within the combustion chamber a first pressure higher than a second pressure generated within the combustion chamber by said pressurized fluid; the combustion chamber further comprising a member for closing the exhaust nozzle, which is shaped so as to break when the pressure in the combustion chamber is at least equal to said first pressure. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The rocket engine according to claim 1, wherein the combustion chamber is limited by a second side wall; the primer device being mounted through the second side wall itself. ### Claim 13 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. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13, wherein the movement of the obturator from its closing position to its first opening position is triggered by at least one pyrogenic primer able to supply a flow of pressurized gas to the outlet. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13 comprising the step of: stopping the obturator in its closing position in contact with end stop means. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13, wherein the pressure of the liquid component is higher than the pressure of the pressurized fluid; the obturator being moved from the closed position into the first open position in a first time interval and from the first open position into the second open position in a second time interval shorter than the first time interval. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13 comprising the step of: moving the obturator, following upon emptying of the container tank, from the second open position to the closed position starting from an instant in which the pressure at the outlet is substantially equal to a first threshold value such as to exert on the second side of the obturator a thrust lower than the thrust exerted on the first side of the obturator by the thrust means. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method according to claim 17, wherein the combustion chamber comprises an injection head, which faces the sliding cylinder, and comprises an injection plate, which faces said outlet, and has a plurality of openings able to connect together the sliding cylinder and the injection head itself; the method further comprising the step of: moving the obturator from the second opening position into a third opening position, where the inlet is partially closed, when the total section of passage defined by said openings is substantially equal to the total section of passage defined by said inlets and the pressure at the outlet is substantially equal to a second threshold value lower than the first threshold value. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method according to claim 18 comprising the step of: moving the obturator from the third open position into the closed position when the pressure at the outlet is lower than said second threshold value. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The method according to claim 18, wherein the obturator is moved from the second open position into the third open position in a third time interval and from the third open position into the closed position in a fourth time interval shorter than the third time interval. ### Claim 21 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13, wherein the combustion of the fuel with the comburent generates within the combustion chamber a first pressure higher than a second pressure generated within the combustion chamber by said pressurized fluid; the method further comprising the step of: closing the exhaust nozzle (4) with a closing member (8) shaped so as to break when the pressure in the combustion chamber is at least equal to said first pressure.