Energy recycling thermal control device and method

By combining the liquid collection chamber, engine components, and springs, and using the piston rod and target gas thrust to control the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber, the problems of low-temperature ignition difficulty and cavity explosion risk of HAN-based engines are solved. This enables the recovery and reuse of thermal energy, improves the engine's rapid response speed, and reduces electrical energy consumption.

CN117803494BActive Publication Date: 2026-06-09AUSTEN TECH BEIJING CO LTD

Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
AUSTEN TECH BEIJING CO LTD
Filing Date
2024-01-30
Publication Date
2026-06-09

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

HAN-based engines are difficult to ignite in low-temperature environments and pose a risk of cavity explosion. Existing thermal control solutions consume a lot of electrical energy and have excessively long start-up times.

Method used

Design a thermal control device for energy recovery and reuse. By combining a liquid collection chamber, engine components and springs, the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber is controlled by the thrust of the piston rod and the target gas, thereby realizing heat energy recovery and reuse, reducing power consumption and improving engine response speed.

Benefits of technology

It effectively reduces the engine's electrical energy consumption, improves the engine's rapid response capability, and reduces the risk of the liquid collection chamber exploding after shutdown.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The energy recycling heat control device provided by the embodiment of the present application comprises a liquid collecting chamber, an engine assembly and a spring, the engine assembly and the spring are arranged between the liquid collecting chamber and an injector, the pushing action of a piston by the target gas filling parameters in a sealed space of the engine assembly is combined with the spring mechanical parameters of the spring to control the distance between a heat plate and the outer wall of the liquid collecting chamber, so that the heat energy is recycled and reused, which is beneficial to improve the rapid response speed of the engine, reduce the power consumption, and thus reduce the risk of explosion after shutdown.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments in this specification relate to the field of thermal control of monocomponent chemical propulsion systems, and particularly to a thermal control device for energy recovery and reuse. Background Technology

[0002] HAN-based monocomponent chemical propulsion systems have advantages such as high specific impulse, wide adjustable thrust range, multiple ignition capability, and being green and non-toxic. They can help satellites weighing 100-1500 kg perform tasks such as emergency orbit changes, precise and rapid orbit insertion, and phase orbit maintenance, and have become a current research hotspot. However, compared with traditional monocomponent propellants, HAN-based propellants have the problem of difficult ignition in low-temperature environments. Before starting a HAN engine, the catalyst bed generally needs to be preheated to a certain temperature. Starting the engine at room temperature without preheating the catalyst bed is very difficult, which not only leads to large energy consumption but also seriously limits the rapid response performance of monocomponent chemical propulsion. At the same time, after the HAN-based engine stops, due to the loss of cooling from the cryogenic propellant, a large amount of heat is transferred to the injector and liquid collection chamber, which brings the risk of chamber explosion.

[0003] Currently, a common method to address the difficulty of ignition in low-temperature environments for HAN-based propulsion systems is the "variable duty cycle" approach. This involves a short initial pulse duration but a long interval, allowing sufficient reaction time for a small amount of propellant to achieve efficient catalytic decomposition and combustion. The heat released from decomposition and combustion gradually increases the temperature of the catalytic bed. As the reaction progresses and the catalytic bed temperature rises, the pulse duration is gradually increased while the reaction interval is reduced, thus shortening the overall start-up time. However, this method still suffers from the problem of excessively long ignition start-up time. Regarding the issue of the liquid collection chamber exploding after engine shutdown, the current common method is to move the liquid collection chamber to the left, away from the high-temperature section, and improve the thermal resistance between the high-temperature section and the liquid collection chamber through material selection and structural design. However, this method is a passive thermal control approach, as the engine's high-temperature section contains a large amount of high-grade heat energy, which is entirely dissipated through thermal radiation.

[0004] In view of this, how to provide a thermal control solution suitable for HAN-based engines to solve the problems of difficult ignition in low-temperature environments and the risk of cavity explosion has become an urgent technical problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, embodiments of this specification provide a thermal control device for energy recovery and reuse. One or more embodiments of this specification also relate to a thermal control method for energy recovery and reuse, in order to solve the technical defects of the existing HAN-based engine thermal control scheme, which has excessively long ignition time, large power consumption, and explosion of the engine cavity after shutdown.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the embodiments of this specification, a thermal control device for energy recovery and reuse is provided, comprising:

[0007] The liquid collection chamber, consisting of a liquid collection chamber cover and a liquid collection chamber base plate, stores cryogenic propellant to balance the temperature of the injector.

[0008] An engine assembly includes a piston rod, a piston, and a piston cylinder housing. The piston cylinder housing is fixed to the injector and located between the injector and the bottom plate of the liquid collection chamber. The piston and the piston cylinder housing form a sealed space filled with a target gas. The pressure of the sealed space is determined according to the target temperature corresponding to the actual operating state of the engine, so as to push the piston to move along the piston cylinder housing. The piston rod is used to connect the piston and the hot plate, so as to drive the piston rod to push the hot plate to move based on the direction of movement of the piston along the piston cylinder housing.

[0009] A spring is disposed between the hot plate and the injector. One end of the spring is connected to the end of the hot plate and is disposed parallel to both sides of the engine assembly. The spring is used to cooperate with the engine assembly to control the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the bottom plate of the liquid collection chamber.

[0010] According to a second aspect of the embodiments of this specification, a thermal control method for energy recovery and reuse is provided, comprising:

[0011] Based on the actual operating state of the engine, the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate in the engine assembly is determined, wherein the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate is determined based on the thrust of the target gas on the piston in the confined space.

[0012] Based on the combined force of the piston rod's thrust on the hot plate and the spring force, the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collecting chamber is controlled, and a heat conduction path is formed according to the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collecting chamber, so as to recover and reuse energy.

[0013] This specification provides an embodiment of a thermal control device for energy recovery and reuse, comprising: a liquid collection chamber, formed by a liquid collection chamber cover and a liquid collection chamber base plate, wherein the liquid collection chamber stores cryogenic propellant for balancing the temperature of the injector; an engine assembly, including a piston rod, a piston, and a piston cylinder shell, wherein the piston cylinder shell is fixed to the injector and located between the injector and the liquid collection chamber base plate, the piston and the piston cylinder shell forming a sealed space, the sealed space being filled with a target gas for determining the pressure of the sealed space according to the target temperature corresponding to the actual operating state of the engine, thereby pushing the piston to move along the piston cylinder; the piston rod is used to connect the piston and a hot plate, thereby driving the piston rod to push the hot plate to move based on the piston's movement direction along the piston cylinder; and a spring disposed between the hot plate and the injector, one end of the spring being connected to the end of the hot plate and disposed parallel to both sides of the engine assembly, for cooperating with the engine assembly to control the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber base plate.

[0014] By applying the device provided in the embodiments of this specification, an engine assembly and a spring are installed between the liquid collection chamber and the injector. The piston is pushed by the target gas filling parameters in the sealed space of the engine assembly, combined with the spring mechanical parameters, so as to control the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber. This enables the recovery and reuse of heat energy, which is beneficial to improve the engine's rapid response speed, reduce power consumption, and thus reduce the risk of the liquid collection chamber exploding after shutdown. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a thermal control device for energy recovery and reuse provided in one embodiment of this specification;

[0016] Figure 2 This is a schematic flowchart of a thermal control method for energy recovery and reuse provided in one embodiment of this specification;

[0017] Figure 3 This is a thermal simulation diagram of a thermal control method for energy recovery and reuse provided in the embodiments of this specification;

[0018] Among them, the components are: solenoid valve connector-101, heat-insulating ceramic gasket-102, liquid collection chamber cover-103, liquid collection chamber bottom plate-104, hot plate-105, capillary tube-106, piston rod-107, piston-108, piston cylinder shell-109, spring-110, and injector-111. Detailed Implementation

[0019] Many specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a full understanding of this specification. However, this specification can be implemented in many other ways than those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar extensions without departing from the spirit of this specification. Therefore, this specification is not limited to the specific implementations disclosed below.

[0020] The terminology used in one or more embodiments of this specification is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the one or more embodiments of this specification. The singular forms “a,” “described,” and “the” as used in one or more embodiments of this specification and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and / or” as used in one or more embodiments of this specification refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0021] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, etc., may be used to describe various information in one or more embodiments of this specification, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, first may also be referred to as second without departing from the scope of one or more embodiments of this specification, and similarly, second may also be referred to as first. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "when," "when," or "in response to a determination."

[0022] Furthermore, it should be noted that the user information (including but not limited to user device information, user personal information, etc.) and data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, stored data, displayed data, etc.) involved in one or more embodiments of this specification are all information and data authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties. Moreover, the collection, use and processing of related data must comply with the relevant laws, regulations and standards of the relevant countries and regions, and corresponding operation entry points are provided for users to choose to authorize or refuse.

[0023] This specification provides a thermal control device for energy recovery and reuse, and also relates to a thermal control method for energy recovery and reuse, which aims to recover and store high-grade thermal energy after shutdown, and ultimately apply it to the preheating of the catalytic bed in a low-temperature environment. The following embodiments will be described in detail one by one.

[0024] See Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a thermal control device for energy recovery and reuse provided in one embodiment of this specification, as shown below. Figure 1 As shown, the thermal control device 100 for energy recovery and reuse includes four parts: a liquid collection chamber, an engine assembly, a spring, and a catalytic bed.

[0025] Specifically, the liquid collection chamber is composed of a liquid collection chamber cover and a liquid collection chamber bottom plate. The liquid collection chamber stores cryogenic propellant to balance the temperature of the injector and absorb the high-grade heat energy of the high-temperature working section on the right side after shutdown.

[0026] More specifically, the liquid collection chamber is provided with capillary tubes, which are arranged in parallel on both sides of the engine assembly, and two capillary tubes are provided on each side for delivering propellant to the injector through the capillary tubes.

[0027] The liquid collection chamber is connected to the solenoid valve connector. A heat-insulating ceramic gasket is installed at the connection point between the solenoid valve connector and the liquid collection chamber to maintain the temperature of the liquid collection chamber after it has been heated. In practical applications, the solenoid valve is connected to the solenoid valve on the left side of the connector, and a heat-insulating ceramic gasket is installed on the right side to protect the solenoid valve and prevent the heating of the liquid collection chamber from affecting the solenoid valve after shutdown.

[0028] A heat-insulating ceramic gasket is welded onto the capillary tube leading out of the liquid collection chamber to keep the liquid collection chamber warm.

[0029] It should be noted that the liquid collection chamber stores cryogenic propellant, which is used to reduce the temperature of the injector when the engine is in normal operating condition, so as to control the separation of the hot plate from the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber bottom plate; or to absorb the heat energy generated at the engine component end when the engine is in a state of transition from stable operation to shutdown (i.e., the first shutdown state or the second shutdown state) and the hot plate is in contact with the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber bottom plate; or when the engine is in a state of transition from shutdown to restart, the cryogenic propellant converted to high-temperature propellant due to heat recovery in the shutdown state is transported to the injector through a capillary tube to preheat the catalytic bed connected to the injector.

[0030] The engine assembly includes a piston rod, a piston, and a piston cylinder housing. The piston cylinder housing is fixed to the injector and located between the injector and the bottom plate of the liquid collection chamber. The piston and the piston cylinder housing form a sealed space filled with a target gas. This sealed space pressure is determined based on the target temperature corresponding to the actual operating state of the engine, thereby pushing the piston along the piston cylinder housing. The piston rod connects the piston and the hot plate, and, based on the piston's movement along the piston cylinder housing, drives the piston rod to push the hot plate. In practical applications, the right side of the piston cylinder housing is welded to the left outer wall of the injector, forming a sealed space with the piston. This space is filled with inert helium gas. The helium expands at high temperatures, pushing the piston to the left and, through the piston rod, pushing the hot plate towards the outer wall of the left liquid collection chamber. The hot plate then adheres to the right outer wall of the liquid collection chamber, opening a thermal channel from the high-temperature area on the right to the low-temperature liquid collection chamber area on the left. This thermal channel includes the piston cylinder housing, piston, piston rod, and hot plate, achieving temperature recovery.

[0031] In the embodiments described in this specification, the relevant components of the piston cylinder are designed according to the actual structural parameters of the engine; the piston cylinder is filled with inert gas.

[0032] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this specification, the inert gas filled in the sealed space formed by the piston cylinder shell and the piston is helium. However, those skilled in the art should know that any inert gas with the same or similar properties as helium can be used as the filling gas for the sealed space. Here, the role of the inert gas is to realize the movement of the piston based on the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, thereby driving the piston rod to move the hot plate, ensuring that the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the bottom plate of the liquid collection chamber is within a preset distance range.

[0033] In the embodiments of this specification, the movement of the hot plate is affected by the thrust of the piston rod. The thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate is affected by the thrust of the piston on the piston rod. The action of the piston on the piston rod is affected by the thermal expansion and contraction of the target gas inside the piston cylinder. Therefore, when determining the magnitude of the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate, the temperature of the injector under different operating conditions of the engine should first be determined, that is, the temperature value of the injector under the engine shutdown state, stable operating state, or shutdown state (including the first temperature value corresponding to the shutdown state, the second temperature value corresponding to the stable operating state, the third temperature value corresponding to the first shutdown state, and the fourth temperature value corresponding to the second shutdown state). It should be noted that the shutdown state here includes the first shutdown state and the second shutdown state. The first shutdown state is the state after the engine has been in the shutdown state for a preset time. The second shutdown state is the state when the engine changes from the stable operating state to the shutdown state within the initial time threshold. Then, based on the first, second, third, and fourth temperature values, a heat recovery temperature threshold is determined. The minimum value of this threshold is greater than the second temperature corresponding to the injector when the engine is in a stable operating state, but less than the maximum temperature corresponding to the injector when the engine is stopped (this maximum temperature is determined based on the third and fourth temperature values). Finally, based on the heat recovery temperature threshold and the target gas's physical properties, the pressure corresponding to the maximum expansion volume of the target gas at the corresponding temperature value is calculated, and the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate is calculated based on this pressure.

[0034] A spring is disposed between the hot plate and the injector. One end of the spring is connected to the end of the hot plate and is disposed parallel to both sides of the engine assembly. The spring is used to cooperate with the engine assembly to control the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the bottom plate of the liquid collection chamber.

[0035] In the embodiments of this specification, the deformation of the spring is determined according to the actual structural parameters of the piston cylinder. It should be noted that the spring design needs to ensure that the spring is in a stretched state when there is no gas in the piston cylinder.

[0036] In the embodiments of this specification, the spring force is determined based on the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate, and the spring deformation, i.e. the initial length and elastic coefficient of the spring, is designed based on the spring force, so as to ensure that the spring rebound force under the deformation is equal to the thrust.

[0037] The catalytic bed is connected to the injector and is used to preheat the catalytic bed by supplying high-temperature propellant to the injector through the capillary tube after the temperature is recovered in the collection chamber. In practical applications, when the engine is reignited, the high-temperature propellant in the collection chamber is squeezed and supplied to the injector on the right, thereby preheating the catalytic bed and realizing the recovery, storage, and reuse of high-grade thermal energy.

[0038] Specifically, the spring works in conjunction with the engine components to control the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the bottom plate of the collecting chamber. This distance is based on the combined force of the piston rod's thrust on the hot plate and the spring's elastic force. It should be noted that when the engine is initially off, the hot plate is kept separate from the right outer wall of the collecting chamber by the combined force of the helium's compressive force on the piston and the spring's return force. When the engine is in a stable operating state, the injector is continuously cooled by the cryogenic propellant, resulting in a lower temperature on the left outer wall (let's say T1). At temperature T1, the helium expands due to heating. Therefore, the combined force of the helium's compressive force on the piston and the spring's return force should always keep the hot plate separated from the right outer wall of the collecting chamber. Maintaining this separation during stable engine operation prevents the propellant in the collecting chamber from heating up, which would cause the cryogenic propellant to overheat. The system cannot recover high-grade heat energy after engine shutdown. When the engine is off, the injector loses the cooling effect of the cryogenic propellant, causing a rapid rise in temperature on the left outer wall of the injector. Helium is further heated and expands. At this point, the combined force of the helium's pressure on the piston and the spring's return force pushes the hot plate against the outer wall of the collection chamber, ensuring complete contact and opening a thermal channel. This lowers the injector temperature and stores high-grade heat energy in the collection chamber. After the engine has been off for a period, a large amount of heat is lost through thermal radiation, causing the helium temperature to drop. At this point, the combined force of the helium's pressure on the piston and the spring's return force controls the hot plate to separate from the outer wall of the collection chamber, preventing heat loss from the collection chamber. It should be noted that the pressure of the helium on the piston here is equal to the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate.

[0039] By applying the device provided in the embodiments of this specification, an engine assembly and a spring are installed between the liquid collection chamber and the injector. The piston is pushed by the target gas filling parameters in the sealed space of the engine assembly, combined with the spring mechanical parameters, so as to control the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber. This enables the recovery and reuse of heat energy, which is beneficial to improve the engine's rapid response speed, reduce power consumption, and thus reduce the risk of the liquid collection chamber exploding after shutdown.

[0040] Corresponding to the above-described device embodiments, this specification also provides an embodiment of a thermal control method for energy recovery and reuse. Figure 2 This is a schematic flowchart of a thermal control method for energy recovery and reuse provided in one embodiment of this specification, as shown below. Figure 2 The specific steps shown are as follows.

[0041] It should be noted that the methods provided in the embodiments of this specification are applied to the thermal control device.

[0042] Step S202: Determine the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate in the engine assembly according to the actual working state of the engine, wherein the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate is determined based on the thrust of the target gas on the piston in the confined space.

[0043] Step S204: Based on the combined force of the piston rod's thrust on the hot plate and the spring force, control the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collecting chamber, and form a heat conduction path according to the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collecting chamber to recover and reuse energy.

[0044] It should be noted that the engine's operating states include: shutdown state, stable operating state, and shutdown state. The shutdown state includes: a first shutdown state and a second shutdown state. The first shutdown state is the state after the engine has been in the shutdown state for a preset time. The second shutdown state is the state in which the engine changes from the stable operating state to the shutdown state within an initial time threshold.

[0045] The step of determining the thrust of the piston rod against the hot plate in the engine assembly based on the actual operating state of the engine includes:

[0046] The temperature of the injector is monitored under different engine operating conditions. The temperature of the injector when the engine is off is the first temperature, the temperature of the injector when the engine is in a stable operating state is the second temperature, the temperature of the injector when the engine is in a first shutdown state is the third temperature, and the temperature of the injector when the engine is in a second shutdown state is the fourth temperature.

[0047] Based on the temperature of the injector under different engine operating conditions, and combined with the pressure of the target gas in the confined space at that temperature, the thrust of the target gas on the piston is determined, and the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate is also determined.

[0048] In practical applications, when the engine is in a stable operating state, the injector is heated by the high temperature of the combustion chamber and cooled by the spray of the cryogenic propellant. Therefore, the second temperature is higher than the first temperature. When the engine is in the first shutdown state, that is, when it remains in the shutdown state for a period of time, the injector loses the spray cooling effect of the cryogenic propellant. Therefore, the third temperature is higher than the second and first temperatures. It should be noted that when the engine changes from a stable operating state to an initial shutdown state, the injector does not immediately lose the spray cooling effect of the cryogenic propellant, but has a buffer period. Therefore, when the engine is in the initial shutdown state, the fourth temperature is lower than the third temperature, but higher than the second and first temperatures.

[0049] Specifically, the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collecting chamber is controlled based on the combined force of the piston rod's thrust on the hot plate and the spring force. A heat conduction path is then formed according to this distance to recover and reuse energy, including:

[0050] When the engine is in a stable operating state and the temperature of the injector is the second temperature, the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate is determined to be the first thrust. Based on the resultant force of the first thrust and the first elastic force of the spring, the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber is controlled to be greater than zero. The first elastic force is determined according to the first thrust and includes the initial length of the spring and the first elastic coefficient.

[0051] When the engine is stopped and the temperature of the injector is at the third or fourth temperature, the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate is determined to be the second thrust. Based on the resultant force of the second thrust and the second elastic force of the spring, the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber is controlled to be zero, forming a heat conduction path for energy recovery and reuse. The second elastic force is determined according to the second thrust and includes the initial length of the spring and the second elastic coefficient.

[0052] The heat conduction path includes a first path and a second path. The first path is the heat conduction path formed by the hot plate and the injector when the engine is off. The second path is the heat conduction path formed when the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber is zero. The second path depends on the combined force of the thrust on the piston caused by the temperature effect of the target gas and the spring return force.

[0053] In practical applications, when the engine is in a stable operating state, the temperature corresponding to the injector is the second temperature. At this time, the hot plate should be kept away from the outer wall of the collection chamber by the elastic force of the spring, so as to avoid heating the collection chamber and provide a temperature container for subsequent temperature recovery. When the engine is initially stopped, the temperature corresponding to the injector is the fourth temperature. At this time, since the distance between the hot plate and the injector is a fixed value, the elastic force of the spring on the hot plate has a maximum value. Since the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate is greater than the maximum elastic force, the hot plate is in contact with the outer wall of the collection chamber, triggering the recovery of heat from the collection chamber.

[0054] In the embodiments of this specification, the elastic deformation of the spring is determined based on the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate. Specifically, when the engine is off, the spring is deformed into a first deformation; when the engine is in a stable operating state, the spring is deformed into a second deformation; when the engine is in an initial shutdown state, the spring is deformed into a third deformation; and when the engine has been off for a period of time, the spring deformation remains at the third deformation because the spring deformation has reached its maximum value.

[0055] Therefore, when the injector is at the first or second temperature, the corresponding first or second deformation of the spring is less than the third deformation. When the injector is at the fourth temperature, the resultant force of the gas expansion thrust and the spring force corresponding to the third deformation is zero. At this time, the hot plate is in contact with the outer wall of the liquid collecting chamber. As the injector temperature continues to rise, the gas expansion force exceeds the spring force, thereby pressing the hot plate against the outer wall of the liquid collecting chamber, increasing the temperature conduction rate, slowing down the injector temperature rise rate, and effectively reducing the risk of injector chamber explosion after shutdown.

[0056] After the machine is shut down for a period of time, the temperature of the combustion chamber decreases due to radiative heat dissipation, and the temperature of the injector decreases as well. At this time, the spring rebound force is greater than the gas expansion force, and the hot plate separates from the liquid collection chamber. This can prevent the temperature of the liquid collection chamber from being transferred back to the injector, which is beneficial for heat preservation of the liquid collection chamber and completes heat recovery.

[0057] The specific method for determining the spring rebound force includes: when the engine is in a stable working state, based on the initial engine structure, obtaining the first initial distance between the injector and the outer wall of the liquid collector and the second initial distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collector, and calculating the first spring mechanical parameters based on the first initial distance and the second initial distance, wherein the first spring mechanical parameters include: spring length, and the corresponding first elastic force and first deformation;

[0058] With the engine off, the temperature A corresponding to the injector under stable operating conditions is obtained, and the maximum temperature B corresponding to the injector after a period of shutdown is determined, forming the temperature threshold for heat recovery. A threshold temperature C is selected within this threshold. When the injector temperature is within this heat recovery temperature threshold and greater than threshold temperature C, the maximum expansion volume of the target gas is calculated based on the piston cylinder design. The mechanical parameters of the second spring are determined according to the temperature and pressure table corresponding to the target gas. These second spring mechanical parameters include the spring constant and the second deformation. It should be noted that when the injector temperature is within this heat recovery temperature threshold after the engine is off, the hot plate is pressed against the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber, activating heat recovery.

[0059] When the engine is restarted from a stopped state, the high-temperature propellant in the liquid collection chamber is transported to the injector through a capillary tube to preheat the catalytic bed connected to the injector, thereby reusing the heat and reducing the power consumption of electric heating.

[0060] In practical applications, let the target gas be helium, let P0 represent the initial helium filling pressure, and let f represent the spring constant. Assume the initial distance between the hot plate and the right outer wall of the collecting chamber is X1, the distance between the right outer wall of the collecting chamber and the left outer wall of the injector is X2, the initial volume of the piston's sealed cavity (in the off-state) is V0, and the maximum volume is V1. Under stable engine operation, the temperature on the left side of the injector is constant at the first temperature T1; the highest temperature of the entire engine after shutdown is the second temperature T2; and the critical injector temperature for initiating heat recovery is the third temperature T3. The specific method for determining the spring's mechanical parameters is as follows.

[0061] First, select a helium filling pressure and, combined with the temperature at shutdown, calculate the gas expansion thrust. Based on the initial distance X1 between the hot plate and the right outer wall of the liquid collection chamber, calculate the first spring's elastic parameters (i.e., the length L1 and elastic coefficient f1 when the spring force is zero). Then, based on X1 and X2, when the hot plate is in contact with the right outer wall of the liquid collection chamber, the spring deformation and rebound force are at their maximum. Calculate the rebound force at this time based on f1. Calculate the gas expansion thrust based on V1 and T3, compare this thrust with the maximum spring rebound force, and adjust L1 and f1 to make these two forces equal.

[0062] See Figure 3 , Figure 3 This is a thermal simulation diagram of a thermal control method for energy recovery and reuse provided in the embodiments of this specification, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the different components of this thermal control device can be divided into four temperature zones after the engine stops for a period of time: low-temperature components, medium-temperature components, medium-high-temperature components, and high-temperature components. Among them, the solenoid valve connector 101, the heat-insulating ceramic gasket 102, and the spring 110 are in the low-temperature component zone; the liquid collection chamber cover 103, the liquid collection chamber bottom plate 104, the hot plate 105, and the capillary tube 106 (second shutdown state) are in the medium-temperature component zone; the piston rod 107 is in the medium-high-temperature component zone; and the capillary tube 106 (first shutdown state), the piston 108, the piston cylinder shell 109, and the injector 111 are in the high-temperature component zone.

[0063] For a period of time after the engine stops, the temperature of the injector rises as it loses the scouring and cooling effect of the cryogenic propellant supplied by the liquid collection chamber. At this time, the expansion of helium pushes the piston to overcome the spring force, causing the hot plate 106 to come into contact with the outer wall of the right side of the liquid collection chamber, thus forming a heat conduction path. The temperature is transferred sequentially through the left outer wall of the injector 111, the piston cylinder 109, and the piston rod 107 to the hot plate 106, and finally heats the liquid collection chamber, indicating that the device can perform high-grade heat energy recovery.

[0064] Applying the method provided in the embodiments of this specification, firstly, the target gas filling parameters and spring mechanical parameters within the sealed space of the engine assembly are determined based on the actual operating state of the engine; then, based on the target gas filling parameters and the spring mechanical parameters, the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber is controlled; finally, with the hot plate in contact with the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber, the liquid collection chamber is controlled to recover heat energy, realizing the recovery and reuse of heat energy, which is beneficial to improving the engine's rapid response speed, reducing power consumption, and thus reducing the risk of liquid collection chamber explosion after shutdown.

[0065] The above is an illustrative scheme of a thermal control method for energy recovery and reuse according to this embodiment. It should be noted that the technical solution of this thermal control method for energy recovery and reuse belongs to the same concept as the technical solution of the thermal control device for energy recovery and reuse described above. For details not described in detail in the technical solution of the thermal control method for energy recovery and reuse, please refer to the description of the technical solution of the thermal control device for energy recovery and reuse described above.

[0066] An embodiment of this specification also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the above-described thermal control method for energy recovery and reuse.

[0067] The foregoing has described specific embodiments of this specification. Other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions or steps recited in the claims may be performed in a different order than that shown in the embodiments and may still achieve the desired result. Furthermore, the processes depicted in the drawings do not necessarily require the specific or sequential order shown to achieve the desired result. In some embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing are possible or may be advantageous.

[0068] It should be noted that, for the sake of simplicity, the foregoing method embodiments are all described as a series of actions. However, those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments in this specification are not limited to the described order of actions, because according to the embodiments in this specification, some steps can be performed in other orders or simultaneously. Furthermore, those skilled in the art should also understand that the embodiments described in this specification are all preferred embodiments, and the actions and modules involved are not necessarily essential to the embodiments in this specification.

[0069] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0070] The preferred embodiments disclosed above are merely illustrative of this specification. The optional embodiments do not exhaustively describe all details, nor do they limit the invention to the specific implementations described. Clearly, many modifications and variations can be made based on the embodiments described herein. These embodiments are selected and specifically described in this specification to better explain the principles and practical applications of the embodiments, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to better understand and utilize this specification. This specification is limited only by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. A thermal control device for energy recovery and reuse, characterized in that, include: The liquid collection chamber consists of a liquid collection chamber cover and a liquid collection chamber bottom plate. The liquid collection chamber stores cryogenic propellant to balance the temperature of the injector. An engine assembly includes a piston rod, a piston, and a piston cylinder housing. The piston cylinder housing is fixed to the injector and located between the injector and the bottom plate of the liquid collection chamber. The piston and the piston cylinder housing form a sealed space, which is filled with a target gas. The pressure of the sealed space is determined according to the target temperature corresponding to the actual operating state of the engine, so as to push the piston to move along the piston cylinder housing. The piston rod is used to connect the piston and the hot plate, so as to drive the piston rod to push the hot plate to move based on the direction of movement of the piston along the piston cylinder housing. A spring is disposed between the hot plate and the injector, with one end of the spring connected to the end of the hot plate and disposed parallel to both sides of the engine assembly. The spring is used to cooperate with the engine assembly to control the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the bottom plate of the liquid collection chamber. The liquid collection chamber is provided with capillary tubes, which are arranged in parallel on both sides of the engine assembly, and two capillary tubes are provided on each side for delivering propellant to the injector through the capillary tubes. The liquid collection chamber is connected to the solenoid valve connector. A heat-insulating ceramic gasket is provided at the connection between the solenoid valve connector and the liquid collection chamber to keep the liquid collection chamber warm and protect the solenoid valve after the liquid collection chamber is heated.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, A heat-insulating ceramic gasket is welded onto the capillary tube leading out of the liquid collection chamber to keep the liquid collection chamber warm.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The device also includes a catalytic bed, which is connected to the injector and is used to preheat the catalytic bed by supplying high-temperature propellant to the injector through the capillary after the temperature is recovered in the collection chamber.

4. A thermal control method for energy recovery and reuse, characterized in that, The thermal control device applied to any one of claims 1 to 3 comprises: Based on the actual operating state of the engine, the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate in the engine assembly is determined, wherein the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate is determined based on the thrust of the target gas on the piston in the confined space. Based on the combined force of the piston rod's thrust on the hot plate and the spring force, the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collecting chamber is controlled, and a heat conduction path is formed according to the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collecting chamber, so as to recover and reuse energy.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The engine's operating states include: shutdown state, stable operating state, and shutdown state. The shutdown state includes: a first shutdown state and a second shutdown state. The first shutdown state is the state after the engine has been in the shutdown state for a preset time. The second shutdown state is the state in which the engine changes from the stable operating state to the shutdown state within an initial time threshold. The step of determining the thrust of the piston rod against the hot plate in the engine assembly based on the actual operating state of the engine includes: The temperature of the injector is monitored under different engine operating conditions. The temperature of the injector when the engine is off is the first temperature, the temperature of the injector when the engine is in a stable operating state is the second temperature, the temperature of the injector when the engine is in a first shutdown state is the third temperature, and the temperature of the injector when the engine is in a second shutdown state is the fourth temperature. Based on the temperature of the injector under different engine operating conditions, and combined with the pressure of the target gas in the confined space at that temperature, the thrust of the target gas on the piston is determined, and the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate is also determined.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, Based on the combined force of the piston rod's thrust on the hot plate and the spring force, the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collecting chamber is controlled, and a heat conduction path is formed according to the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collecting chamber to recover and reuse energy, including: When the engine is in a stable operating state and the temperature of the injector is the second temperature, the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate is determined to be the first thrust. Based on the resultant force of the first thrust and the first elastic force of the spring, the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber is controlled to be greater than zero. The first elastic force is determined according to the first thrust and includes the initial length of the spring and the first elastic coefficient. When the engine is stopped and the temperature of the injector is at the third or fourth temperature, the thrust of the piston rod on the hot plate is determined to be the second thrust. Based on the resultant force of the second thrust and the second elastic force of the spring, the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber is controlled to be zero, forming a heat conduction path for energy recovery and reuse. The second elastic force is determined according to the second thrust and includes the initial length of the spring and the second elastic coefficient.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The heat conduction path includes a first path and a second path, wherein the first path is the heat conduction path formed by the hot plate and the injector when the engine is stopped, and the second path is the heat conduction path formed when the distance between the hot plate and the outer wall of the liquid collection chamber is zero.

8. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the engine is restarting from a stopped state, the high-temperature propellant in the liquid collection chamber is delivered to the injector through a capillary tube to preheat the catalytic bed connected to the injector.