Back to results
US 6,548,794 B2Granted
Dissolvable thrust vector control vane
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsAndrew B. Facciano, Paul Lehner, Wayne N. Anderson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsAndrew B. Facciano, Paul Lehner, Wayne N. Anderson
Estimating the term…
A dissolvable jet vane (22/30) is a composite structure, having a support frame (38), a plug leading edge (40) connected to the forward edge (42) of the frame (38), and an insulation layer (44) on the side walls of the support frame (38). The dissolvable jet vane materials withstand the pressure and thermal loads associated with missile steering during the first few seconds of rocket boost until the missile attains sufficient speed to use conventional external aerodynamic control fins for steering control. Once control passes to the external fins, the jet vanes rapidly and uniformly dissolve in the exhaust stream. The dissolvable jet vane provides a lightweight, reliable means of removing steering jet vanes from the exhaust stream of a solid rocket motor nozzle.
A dissolvable thrust vector control vane for mounting in a rocket nozzle so as to be in the path of an exhaust plume from a rocket motor, comprising a frame mountable to extend within the nozzle, a thermal protection layer on at least a portion of the frame, and an erosion-resistant material at a forward edge of the frame, wherein the erosion resistant material and the thermal protection layer are selected to withstand conditions in the exhaust plume for a predetermined time, and wherein at least the frame and the thermal protection layer dissolve in the exhaust plume after the predetermined period of time has elapsed.
A method of making a dissolvable thrust vector control vane for mounting in a rocket nozzle in the path of an exhaust plume from a rocket motor, comprising forming a frame from graphite-reinforced organic resins, mounting an erosion-resistant material at a forward edge of the frame, applying a thermal protection layer to at least a portion of the frame and selecting the erosion resistant material and the thermal protection layer to withstand conditions in the exhaust plume for a predetermined time after which at least the frame and the thermal/protection layer dissolve in the exhaust plume.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.