A method for calculating the laser rocket engine thermal state based on the optical discharge with numerous plasma formations

A method is presented for calculating the thermal state of the laser rocket engine (LRE) structure with numerous plasma formations in the absorption chamber. The results of evaluating radiant heat fluxes and the temperature of the LRE structure walls with regard for convective and conductive heat exchange are given; the actions of a heat flux with the specified distribution density on the structure surface are considered as functions of time and thermal radiation, that is due to the temperature and optical properties of a radiating body. It is shown that working process organization in the absorption chamber on the basis of numerous plasma formations makes it possible to produce a uniform profile of the heat flux distribution along the absorption chamber axis and thus reduce a possibility of separate structure sections overheating.     

Numerical study of intrachamber processes dynamics at nozzleless solid propellant rocket engine actuation

The results of the comprehensive numerical analysis for dynamics of intrachamber processes that appear at nozzleless solid propellant rocket engine (SPRE) actuation are presented. A complete cycle of rocket engine operation is analyzed. We solve a conjugate problem involving the igniter actuation; heating, ignition and following combustion of a solid propellant charge; a combustion product flow in the combustion chamber; depressurization of the combustion chamber, and the subsequent motion of the rocket engine blank; variation of the combustion surface geometry at the expense of the gradual and nonuniform burnout of solid propellant web.     

通道深宽比对液体火箭发动机推力室再生冷却的影响

应用湍流模型对液体推进剂火箭发动机再生冷却推力室通道的流动与传热进行了三维数值模拟, 冷却工质为氢气, 其密度、导热系数、动力粘度随着温度和压力而变化, 冷却剂比热容及金属固体物性随着温度而变化.计算采用标准k-ε两方程湍流模型及气-固耦合算法.保持再生冷却通道个数及冷却工质进口流量不变, 通过改变通道肋壁厚度来改变冷却通道深宽比, 研究不同深宽比对推力室壁面再生冷却效果的影响规律.计算结果表明:增加通道深宽比对推力室壁面能够起到强化传热的作用, 但同时也增加了冷却通道的进出口压差.这是由于冷却工质流速的增高, 从而提高了推力室传热系数.随着深宽比不断增加, 推力室再生冷却效果趋于饱和, 而冷却工质进出口压降则不断上升.      

Numerical analysis of regenerative cooling in liquid propellant rocket engines

High combustion temperatures and long operation durations require the use of cooling techniques in liquid propellant rocket engines (LPRE). For high-pressure and high-thrust rocket engines, regenerative cooling is the most preferred cooling method. Traditionally, approximately square cross sectional cooling channels have been used. However, recent studies have shown that by increasing the coolant channel height-to-width aspect ratio and changing the cross sectional area in non-critical regions for heat flux, the rocket combustion chamber gas-side wall temperature can be reduced significantly without an increase in the coolant pressure drop. In this study, the regenerative cooling of a liquid propellant rocket engine has been numerically simulated. The engine has been modeled to operate on a LOX/kerosene mixture at a chamber pressure of 60 bar with 300 kN thrust and kerosene is considered as the coolant. A numerical investigation was performed to determine the effect of different aspect ratio and number of cooling channels on gas-side wall and coolant temperatures and pressure drop in cooling channels.     

Index allocation for a reusable LOX/CH4 rocket engine

Reusable rocket engines are the core components of reusable launch vehicles, and have thus become a major focus of aerospace engineering research in recent years. In practice, subsystem design is based on the overall index allocation of an engine; therefore, a multidisciplinary optimization approach is necessary. In this study, design of a reusable methane/liquid oxygen (LOX/CH4) rocket engine with a gas generator cycle was investigated using multidisciplinary optimization. Two parameters were chosen as design variables: pressure and fuel mix ratio of the main combustion chamber. Optimization objectives were specific impulse, structural mass, and life cycle cost of the reusable rocket engine, and constraints were assigned to each discipline according to rocket design requirements. Then, an optimization model was developed, and optimal design parameters were acquired for the LOX/CH4 rocket engine. The proposed method is effective for designing the index allocation of reusable rocket engines and takes into account the multidisciplinary nature of complex systems.     

Experimental and theoretical investigation of laser rocket engine characteristics based on a continuous optical discharge

The results of the experimental and theoretical investigation of basic laser rocket engine (LRE) characteristics are presented; the engine operation is based on a continuous optical discharge being stabilized in the absorption chamber by a swirled counterflow working gas stream. Modeling of the stream pattern in the LRE absorption chamber made it possible to reveal zones of peripheral, intermediate and axial flow taking into account atmospheric air ejection into the near-axial region through the gasodynamic window. It is shown that creation of a laser rocket engine with a high specific impulse is a real problem.     

A concept of a spacecraft with small initial mass placed in the near-earth orbit by a laser rocket engine

A method and results of calculating the laser radiation power values necessary to place an artificial earth satellite in orbit are presented; the values depend on the initial vehicle mass, velocity of the working fluid efflux from the laser rocket engine nozzle, velocity of vehicle motion, optimal values of thrust-to-weight ratio taking into account irreversible energy losses in the rocket engine jet. The possibility of creating a spacecraft with small initial mass is substantiated. A layout scheme of the propulsive system is proposed that makes it possible to divide total laser radiation power and to use atmospheric air as a working fluid.     

Thermal state calculation of chamber in small thrust liquid rocket engine for steady state pulsed mode

This paper presents a method of thermal state calculation of combustion chamber in small thrust liquid rocket engine. The goal is to predict the thermal state of chamber wall by using basic parameters of engine: thrust level, propellants, chamber pressure, injection pattern, film cooling parameters, material of wall and their coating, etc. The difficulties in modeling the startup and shutdown processes of thrusters lie in the fact that there are the conjugated physical processes occurring at various parameters for non-design conditions. A mathematical model to predict the thermal state of the combustion chamber for different engine operation modes is developed. To simulate the startup and shutdown processes, a quasi-steady approach is applied by replacing the transient process with time-variant operating parameters of steady-state processes. The mathematical model is based on several principles and data commonly used for heat transfer modeling: geometry of flow part, gas dynamics of flow, thermodynamics of propellants and combustion spices, convective and radiation heat flows, conjugated heat transfer between hot gas and wall, and transient approach for calculation of thermal state of construction. Calculations of the thermal state of the combustion chamber in single-turn-on mode show good convergence with the experimental results. The results of pulsed modes indicate a large temperature gradient on the internal wall surface of the chamber between pulses and the thermal state of the wall strongly depends on the pulse duration and the interval.     

富氧补燃循环发动机启动过程

启动过程是液体火箭发动机研制中的重点和难点,解决大推力补燃循环发动机启动问题的主要措施应为:通过控制预燃室的燃料流量以有效地将预燃室的组元比控制在合理的范围内,并可以控制发动机的启动速率;燃烧室点火时预燃室应有较高的压力,同时应通过推力室燃料路的节流来减小燃烧室压力的上升速率;对于自身启动发动机,较高的入口压力有利于发动机启动。这些措施解决了富氧补燃循环发动机的启动问题,可供同类发动机的研制借鉴。     

液体火箭发动机不同室压下冷却方案适用范围

为了精准评估不同冷却方案对高压液氧烃火箭发动机推力室传热特性的影响,建立了一套再生通道-液膜屏蔽-隔热镀层-辐射换热的整机模型,采用Ievlev半经验模型计算燃气侧壁面的对流换热过程,引入Shruvik安全裕度评估准则,计算推力室径向的分区温度和热流密度。基于某型大推力液氧煤油火箭发动机,研究了不同冷却结构组合的换热能力上限,分析了不同推力室压力对冷却设计方案的影响。结果表明:推力室压力在12 MPa及以下时,可主要依靠再生冷却技术满足冷却需求;在16 MPa及以下时需要配合内冷却环带满足冷却需求;在18 MPa及以下时需进一步设置隔热镀层提高热防护能力;室压在20 MPa甚至更高时,必须采用其他强化换热措施。      

Deep space travel energy sources

Exploration of the planets beyond Mars and their surroundings is already planned. Astronomy researchers are citing important information that can be obtained with instrumented spacecraft that fly beyond the planets of our solar system. Spacecraft flying these missions need power for performing their functions and communicating with Earth stations. Sunlight in these zones is so weak that alternative energy sources are needed. An alternative power source for deep-space missions is radioisotope heated energy converters.. The choice of heat-to-electric power conversion is narrowing to: 1) the Stirling engine; and 2) a combined cycle with thermionic and alkali-metal thermoelectric (AMTEC) heat-to-electricity conversion. For propulsion into deep space, a nuclear-reactor-heated AMTEC energy converter that powers ion engines can become the best alternative to hoisting tons of rockets into Earth orbit.     

双组元高室压脉冲火箭发动机工作特性分析

为了研究高室压脉冲火箭发动机的工作特性,在分析其工作原理的基础上建立了数学模型,其中燃烧室和挤压腔采用零维模型,喷管采用一维准稳态模型,采用四阶Runge-Kutta法进行了求解.结果表明,燃烧室的最大压强和平均压强都高于推进剂供给压强,而挤压过程中进出燃烧室的质量不守恒是压强升高的原因.与常规液体火箭发动机相比较表明,脉冲火箭发动机的真空比冲提高了7.5%,而喉部面积仅为其10.2%.     

Study of working process instability in the two-chamber solid-propellant rocket engine

The mechanism of low-frequency acoustic instability generation in the two-chamber tandem solid-propellant rocket engine is studied numerically using the Davydov method (the method of large particles). The calculation results are in a good agreement with the experimental data. The gasodynamic nature (that is essentially nonlinear) of low-frequency acoustic fluctuations of pressure and thrust connected with the structure and pattern of the flow in the rocket engine combustion chamber is corroborated.     

脉冲爆震火箭发动机和小推力液体火箭发动机的性能对比分析

为了了解脉冲爆震火箭发动机的性能优势,对比了脉冲爆震火箭发动机和小推力液体火箭发动机的推力和比冲,其中脉冲爆震火箭发动机的性能计算采用等容循环计算模型.结果表明:真空状态下,随燃烧室进口温度的升高,比冲增加不大;在推进剂和发动机结构尺寸相同的情况下,脉冲爆震火箭发动机产生的推力比小推力液体火箭发动机的多3.0倍至6.8倍,但比冲相当.     

Coupled Lagrangian impingement spray model for doublet impinging injectors under liquid rocket engine operating conditions

To predict the effect of the liquid rocket engine combustion chamber conditions on the impingement spray, the conventional uncoupled spray model for impinging injectors is extended by considering the coupling of the jet impingement process and the ambient gas field. The new coupled model consists of the plain-orifice sub-model, the jet-jet impingement sub-model and the droplet collision sub-model. The parameters of the child droplet are determined with the jet-jet impingement sub-model using correlations about the liquid jet parameters and the chamber conditions.The overall model is benchmarked under various impingement angles, jet momentum and offcenter ratios. Agreement with the published experimental data validates the ability of the model to predict the key spray characteristics, such as the mass flux and mixture ratio distributions in quiescent air. Besides, impinging sprays under changing ambient pressure and non-uniform gas flow are investigated to explore the effect of liquid rocket engine chamber conditions. First, a transient impingement spray during engine start-up phase is simulated with prescribed pressure profile. The minimum average droplet diameter is achieved when the orifices work in cavitation state, and is about 30% smaller than the steady single phase state. Second, the effect of non-uniform gas flow produces off-center impingement and the rotated spray fan by 38°. The proposed model suggests more reasonable impingement spray characteristics than the uncoupled one and can be used as the first step in the complex simulation of coupling impingement spray and combustion in liquid rocket engines.     

液体火箭发动机燃烧室壁液膜冷却的数值模拟

为研究液体火箭发动机的液膜冷却,建立了液膜模型。考虑核心气流与液膜间的对流传热,辐射传热以及壁面与液膜的对流传热分析传热量,由液膜的卷吸和液膜的蒸发计算传质,并由气液界面和液固界面的摩擦力分析流动情况。在400N小发动机内流场数值模拟中采用了该液膜模型,计算得到的壁面温度分布与试验结果符合较好,表明该模型是合理可行的。改变发动机燃烧室半径和圆筒段长度,将数值模拟结果对比分析发现:在一定范围内随着半径和圆筒段长度的增加,液膜长度减小,室壁温度升高,冷却效果变差。研究结果可为发动机的设计提供参考。      

液体火箭发动机再生冷却槽寿命预估

基于有限元热结构耦合计算结果分析了液体火箭发动机再生冷却槽的失效形式,并分别采用Porowski模型及其蠕变修正模型对冷却槽进行寿命预估.结果表明冷却槽寿命主要取决于塑性拉伸不稳定失效;蠕变对寿命有一定影响,是寿命预估不可或缺的一部分;减小外壳与内壁的温差幅值、增大每个冷却槽的肋宽比或增加冷却槽数目可以延长寿命.该寿命预估方法可用于指导可重复使用液体火箭发动机再生冷却槽设计.      

Energy and power

Energy sources for aerospace systems include electrochemicals, mechanical rotation, solar illumination, radioisotopes, and nuclear reactors. Energy is converted to power with engines, turbines, photovoltaics, thermoelectric and thermionic devices, and electrochemical processes. Although some early spacecraft flew with battery power, for longer flights the choice has been either solar or nuclear. Manned spacecraft must have power for the total mission duration including boost into orbit, on-orbit, and subsequent re-entry. Batteries are too heavy for extended manned space missions; tradeoff study alternatives range from radioisotope heated thermionic converters to hyperbolic-fueled engines. Arrays of solar cells are the obvious choice for powering space stations and for other extended-duration missions. This article emphasizes developments for space and airplane power systems. Enabling technologies are described along with significant spin-offs and future systems     

A method for calculating a temperature field of multiple plasma formations in the laser rocket engine absorption chamber

A method and the results of calculating the temperature field distribution for a three-focus plasma formation are presented; the calculation is made by the numerical method with the use of the theoretical Glumb and Krier model. It is proposed that multi-phase plasma formations consisting of solid laser sparks should be used in the absorption chamber of a laser rocket engine (LRE).     

膏体推进剂发动机试验

通过发动机试验系统,进行了膏体推进剂发动机热格栅点火试验和多次关机 启动试验研究。试验发动机带有供料装置,供料压强为7 5MPa,推进剂流量为51g s,喷管喉径为7mm,燃烧室平均压强约1 7MPa,总工作时间大于136s。试验获得了膏体发动机多次点火的特性参数和进行多次关机 启动的压强曲线。试验结果表明:选用的膏体推进剂具有很好的热格栅点火性能,点火参数分布较均匀;膏体发动机具有良好的能量可控性。