Patent · US Expired

Acoustic oscillatory pressure control for solid propellant rocket

US4765134A · kind A · utility

6Cited by
5References
8Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 28, 1986
Grant dateAug 23, 1988
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 28, 2006

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
  • CPC primaryF02K9/26
  • WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

The periodic shedding of vortices produced in a highly sheared gas flow, such as that encountered at the grain transition boundary in a solid propellant rocket motor or at the combustor inlet to a ramjet engine, is a significant source of acoustic instability which may result in unstarting of the ramjet engine or excessive vibration of the rocket motor. By restricting the transition boundary or combustor inlet at the sudden expansion dump plane (5), such as by locating an orifice plate (13) at the dump plane, the gas flow is separated upstream and produces a vena contracta downstream of the orifice, inhibiting the feedback of acoustic pressure to the point of flow separation and preventing the formation of organized oscillations. Incorporation of such a simple thin plate orifice at the dump plane reduces the periodic acoustic oscillations and thereby controls the detrimental oscillatory pressure fluctuations.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.