The Space Launch System: Building a Vehicle for Sustainable Space Exploration
No abstract available
Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to VanHooser, Katherine.
No abstract available
This session includes the following sessions: (1) External Tank (ET) System Reliability and Lessons, (2) Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), Reliability Validated by a Million Seconds of Testing, (3) Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) Reliability via Process Control, and (4) Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Reliability via Acceptance and Testing.
Rocket engine testing is important throughout a program s life and is essential to the overall success of the program. Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) testing can be divided into three phases: development, certification, and operational. Development tests are conducted on the basic design and are used to develop safe start and shutdown transients and to demonstrate mainstage operation. This phase helps form the foundation of the program, demands navigation of a very steep learning curve, and yields results that shape the final engine design. Certification testing involves multiple engine samples and more aggressive test profiles that explore the boundaries of the engine to vehicle interface requirements. The hardware being tested may have evolved slightly from that in the development phase. Operational testing is conducted with mature hardware and includes acceptance testing of flight assets, resolving anomalies that occur in flight, continuing to expand the performance envelope, and implementing design upgrades. This paper will examine these phases of testing and their importance to the SSME program. Examples of tests conducted in each phase will also be presented.
Leading edge tip deformation was noted on the LOX inducer from the component test unit at disassembly. The damage was in a location similar to a previous Fastrac water flow inducer failure. A team was formed to investigate the anomaly.
This paper presents the application of the Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP) to model the time-dependent flow in a complex secondary flow circuit of the turbopump of the Fastrac engine currently under development at Marshall Space Flight Center. GFSSP is a general purpose computer program for analyzing steady-state and time-dependant flowrates, pressures, temperatures, and concentrations in a complex flow network. The program employs a finite volume formulation of mass, momentum and energy conservation equations in conjunction with the thermodynamic equation of state of real fluids. GFSSP was used to calculate the axial thrust and internal flow distribution of the Fastrac engine turbopump during the start and shut down transients. The models discussed in this paper use boundary conditions that were extracted from turbopump test data. The GFSSP predicted turbopump secondary flow passage pressures and temperatures were compared with actual measured values.
This paper presents application of a Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP) to model fluid flow in a very complex secondary flow circuit of a rocket engine turbopump, SIMPLEX. SIMPLEX was a low cost turbopump designed, manufactured and tested to demonstrate the ability to reduce the overall cost and design cycle time of turbomachinery. GFSSP is a general purpose computer program for analyzing flowrate, pressure, temperature and concentration distribution in a complex flow network. The program employs a finite volume formulation of mass, momentum and energy conservation equations in conjunction with thermodynamic equation of state of a real fluid. The secondary flow passages modeled include flow between the impeller shroud and housing, impeller back face and housing, flow through labyrinth seal and bearing, return line flow to inducer and flow adjacent to front and back face of the turbine. Axial load on the bearing are calculated from the predicted pressure on all axial faces of the rotor. The predicted pressure and temperature distributions compared well with the test data.