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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Low-temperature chemical starting of combined jp-4 nitric acid propellant for low-thrust rocket engine using three-fluid propellant valve
Performance potential of radiant heat transfer liquid-core nuclear rocket engine
Refractory metal coatings protective capabilities in rocket engine propulsive environment evaluated for effectiveness
Electroforming techniques for fabrication of rocket engine injector using hypergolic fuel
Cold flow startup test on nuclear rocket engine using radial turbopump
Velocity equation for determining optimal flight regimes of aircraft with rocket engines
Channel-type shell construction for rocket engines and related configurations
Fuel injection system for maximum combustion efficiency of rocket engines
Gaseous oxygen-gaseous hydrogen rocket engine injector valve technology
Criteria for the design and development of turbines for rocket engines to meet specific performance, and installation requirements are summarized. The total design problem, and design elements are identified, and the current technology pertaining to these elements is described. Recommended practices for achieving a successful design are included.
Liquid fueled rocket engine combustion, heat transfer, and material technology have been utilized in the design and development of compact combustion and heat exchange equipment intended for application in the commercial field. An initial application of the concepts to the design of a compact steam generator to be utilized by electrical utilities for the production of peaking power is described.
Two hydrogen-oxygen rocket engine system concepts were analyzed parametrically over a thrust range from 100 to 1000 pounds and a chamber pressure range from 175 to 1000 psia. Both concepts were regeneratively cooled with hydrogen and were pump-fed by electric motor driven positive displacement pumps. Electric power was provided by either a turboalternator (turboalternator concept) or some means external to the engine system (auxiliary power concept). The computer program used to conduct the analyses along with the design characteristics of the major engine system components are briefly described. The feasible design range of the systems over the parametric range of thrust is discussed in terms of allowable chamber pressure considering the constraints of thrust chamber cooling and cycle power. Engine system estimated performance, mass, and dimensional envelope parametric data within the feasible design range are presented.
High-pressure turbopumps for advanced reusable liquid-propellant rocket engines such as that for the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) require turbine blade materials that operate under extreme conditions of temperature, hydrogen environment, high-cycle fatigue loading, thermal fatigue and thermal shock. Such requirements tax the capabilities of current blade materials. Based on projections of properties for tungsten fiber reinforced superalloy (FRS) composites, it was concluded that FRS turbine blades offer the potential of a several-fold increase in life and over a 200C increase in temperature capability over current SSME blade material. FRS composites were evaluated with respect to mechanical property requirements for SSME blade applications. Compared to the current blade material, the thermal shock resistance of FRS materials is excellent, two to nine times better, and their thermal fatigue resistance is equal to or higher than the current blade material. FRS materials had excellent low and high-cycle fatigue strengths, and thermal shock-induced surface microcracks had no influence on their fatigue strength. The material also exhibited negligible embrittlement when exposed to a hydrogen environment.
The effects of radiation on the performance of modern rocket propulsion systems operating at high pressure and temperature were recognized as a key issue in the design and operation of various liquid rocket engines of the current and future generations. Critical problem areas of radiation coupled with combustion of bipropellants are assessed and accounted for in the formulation of a universal scaling law incorporated with a radiation-enhanced vaporization combustion model. Numerical algorithms are developed and the pertaining data of the Variable Thrust Engine (VTE) and Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) are used to conduct parametric sensitivity studies to predict the principal intercoupling effects of radiation. The analysis reveals that low enthalpy engines, such as the VTE, are vulnerable to a substantial performance set back by the radiative loss, whereas the performance of high enthalpy engines such as the SSME, are hardly affected over a broad range of engine operation. Additionally, combustion enhancement by the radiative heating of the propellant has a significant impact in those propellants with high absorptivity. Finally, the areas of research related with radiation phenomena in bipropellant engines are identified.
A new, structurally compliant rocket engine combustion chamber design has been validated through analysis and experiment. Subscale, tubular channel chambers have been cyclically tested and analytically evaluated. Cyclic lives were determined to have a potential for 1000 percent increase over those of rectangular channel designs, the current state of the art. Greater structural compliance in the circumferential direction gave rise to lower thermal strains during hot firing, resulting in lower thermal strain ratcheting and longer predicted fatigue lives. Thermal, structural, and durability analyses of the combustion chamber design, involving cyclic temperatures, strains, and low-cycle fatigue lives, have corroborated the experimental observations.
A pressure-fed rocket engine using hydrogen peroxide and JP-8 was designed and demonstrated for upper stage space transportation applications. The engine utilizes silver plated screen catalyst to decompose 85% hydrogen peroxide (by weight). The decomposed high-temperature gas causes the JP-8 to auto-ignite and undergo chemical reaction. An ablative chamber using silica phenolic was used as the combustion chamber. The present effort includes catalyst development, injector evaluation, and chamber char and erosion characterization. Wagonwheel-type distribution and support plates were used in the catalyst bed design to reduce pressure drop, to increase active area, and to avoid flow channeling. Various fuel injection and mixing approaches were investigated and the combustion efficiency was in the range from 89 to 98%, depending on injector design and operating conditions. Fuel film cooling, up to 40% of the total fuel flow, was found to be ineffective with the current engine configuration. A ring injector was selected because of the satisfactory performance and its low cost. The char and erosion rates were determined through hot-fire tests. The char depth was found to be a function of axial distance, which was related to the progress of chemical reaction. Correlation of the char and erosion rates was developed as a design database for future applications,
A thrust chamber assembly for liquid fueled rocket engines and the method of making it wherein a two-piece mandrel having the configuration of an assembly having a combustion chamber portion connected to a nozzle portion through a throat portion is wrapped with a silica tape saturated with a phenolic resin, the tape extending along the mandrel and covering the combustion chamber portion of the mandrel to the throat portion. The width of the tape is positioned at an angle of 30 to 50 deg. to the axis of the mandrel such that one edge of the tape contacts the mandrel while the other edge is spaced from the mandrel. The phenolic in the tape is cured and the end of the wrap is machined to provide a frusto-conical surface extending at an angle of 15 to 30 deg. with respect to the axis of the mandrel for starting a second wrap on the mandrel to cover the throat portion. The remainder of the mandrel is wrapped with a third silica tape having its width positioned at a angle of 5 to 20 deg. from the axis of the mandrel. The resin in the third tape is cured and the assembly is machined to provide a smooth outer surface. The entire assembly is then wrapped with a tow of graphite fibers wetted with an epoxy resin and, after the epoxy resin is cured, the graphite is machined to final dimensions.
A thrust chamber assembly for liquid fueled rocket engines and the method of making it wherein a two-piece mandrel wrapped with a silica tape saturated with a phenolic resin, the tape extending along the mandrel and covering the combustion chamber portion of the mandrel to the throat portion. The phenolic in the tape is cured and the end of the wrap is machined. The remainder of the mandrel is wrapped with a third silica tape. The resin in the third tape is cured and the assembly is machined. The entire assembly is then wrapped with a tow of graphite fibers wetted with an epoxy resin and, after the epoxy resin is cured, the graphite is machined to final dimensions.