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US 2017/0138310 A1Published application
Aerospike rocket motor assembly
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsJames Kendall Villarreal, Mark T. Langhenry, Jeremy C. Danforth
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A motor assembly is provided for use with projectiles, such as munitions, having relatively low length to diameter ratios. The motor assembly has an aerospike nozzle and a casing disposed about the aerospike nozzle, where interior aerospike volume contains propellant and where walls of both the cowl of the casing and of the aerospike nozzle jointly define a combustion chamber.
Claims20
A projectile comprising:
- a body;
- and
- a motor assembly coupled to the body, the motor assembly including
- a casing closed at a first casing end adjacent the body and open at a second casing end opposite the first casing end,
- an inverse nozzle coupled to the casing and received in the second casing end,
- a propellant charge disposed both in the inverse nozzle and in the casing, and
- a combustion chamber disposed between the propellant charge and the first casing end,
- wherein the projectile has a length to diameter ratio of less than or equal to 5.
5 more elements
A projectile comprising:
- a forward body;
- and
- a motor assembly extending along a longitudinal motor axis between a first motor end coupled to the forward body and a second motor end opposite the first motor end, the motor assembly including
- a casing closed at a first casing end adjacent the body and open about the longitudinal motor axis at a second casing end opposite the first casing end,
- an inverse nozzle coupled to the casing and extending along the longitudinal motor axis between an open lead end and a closed tail end opposing the lead end, the lead end being open about the longitudinal motor axis and being received by the second casing end of the casing, and the inverse nozzle tapering outwardly in a direction from the tail end to the lead end,
- a propellant charge axially disposed between the tail end of the inverse nozzle and the first casing end of the casing, and
- a combustion chamber axially disposed between the propellant charge and the first casing end of the casing.
4 more elements
A retrofit motor assembly for being attached to a projectile, the motor assembly comprising:
- a casing closed at a first casing end adjacent the body and open about the longitudinal motor axis at a second casing end opposite the first casing end,
- an inverse nozzle coupled to the casing and extending along the longitudinal motor axis between an open lead end and a closed tail end opposing the lead end, the lead end being open about the longitudinal motor axis and being received by the second casing end of the casing, and the inverse nozzle tapering outwardly in a direction from the tail end to the lead end,
- a propellant charge disposed both in the inverse nozzle and in the casing, and
- a combustion chamber disposed between the propellant charge and the first casing end.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.