Novel thermal method for rapid coke measurement in liquid rocket engines
AssigneeReaction Systems, LLC
InventorsDavid Thomas Wickham, Bradley Dean Hitch, Jeffrey Robert Engel
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Abstract
There is disclosed a method of cleaning a liquid hydrocarbon-cooled bipropellant rocket engine. In an embodiment, method includes heating the engine to a temperature. The method includes applying ozone for a period of time. The method includes determining the temperature and the period of time are each sufficient to remove carbonaceous deposits. In another embodiment, the method may further include thermally imaging the heat transfer surfaces. There is disclosed apparatus for cleaning a liquid hydrocarbon-cooled bipropellant rocket engine. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a heater, an ozone source, and a thermal camera. Other embodiments are also disclosed.
Claims47
A method of cleaning a liquid hydrocarbon-cooled bipropellant rocket engine, the method comprising:
- heating the engine to a given temperature;
- applying ozone to flow through channels in the engine wall for a period of time;
- and
- determining the given temperature and the period of time are each sufficient to remove carbonaceous deposits from heat transfer surfaces of the liquid hydrocarbon-cooled bipropellant rocket engine.
A method of cleaning a liquid hydrocarbon-cooled bipropellant rocket engine, the method comprising:
- heating the engine to a given temperature;
- applying ozone to flow through channels in the engine wall for a period of time;
- and
- thermally imaging the heat transfer surfaces to determine the given temperature and the period of time are each sufficient to remove carbonaceous deposits from heat transfer surfaces of the liquid hydrocarbon-cooled bipropellant rocket engine.
A method of cleaning a liquid hydrocarbon-cooled bipropellant rocket engine, the method comprising:
- heating the engine to a given temperature;
- applying ozone to flow through channels in the engine wall for a period of time;
- and
- monitoring at least one of carbon dioxide and water emitted from the channels to determine the period of time are each sufficient to remove carbonaceous deposits from heat transfer surfaces of the liquid hydrocarbon-cooled bipropellant rocket engine.
A method of cleaning a liquid hydrocarbon-cooled bipropellant rocket engine, the method comprising:
- heating the engine to a given temperature;
- applying ozone to flow through channels in the engine wall for a period of time;
- and
- monitoring infrared thermal imaging of the engine to determine the period of time is sufficient to remove carbonaceous deposits from heat transfer surfaces of the liquid hydrocarbon-cooled bipropellant rocket engine.
Apparatus for cleaning a liquid hydrocarbon-cooled bipropellant rocket engine, the apparatus comprising:
- a heater configured to heat the engine to a given temperature;
- and
- an ozone source configured to apply a flow of ozone to channels in the engine wall for a period of time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.