High performance rocket engine having a stepped expansion combustion chamber and method of making the same
US6588199B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 22, 2002 |
| Grant date | Jul 8, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 22, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF02K9/62
- WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An improved rocket engine combustion chamber including a first chamber having a first diameter and located intermediate to a propellant injector and a second chamber having a second diameter that is larger than the first diameter. The combustion chamber extends radially outward from the first diameter to the second diameter suddenly at the intersection between the first and second chambers. Film cooling is provided by providing a stratified layer of low temperature fluid adjacent to the inner wall of the first chamber and surrounding a primary inner core of high temperature gases. The sudden stepped expansion at the interface between the first and second chambers provides secondary recirculation mixing of the propellants and facilitates complete combustion. In an additional aspect, the inner surface of the first chamber may be made of a material that has a high degree of thermal conductivity to minimize temperature gradients.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.