An open-cycle liquid oxygen-kerosene rocket engine structure

Abstract

This invention belongs to the field of rocket engines, specifically relating to an open-cycle liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engine structure. It includes five or seven engines; each engine comprises a thrust chamber and a turbopump mounted on the thrust chamber; one engine serves as the central engine, its thrust chamber mounted in the middle of the external frame; the remaining engines serve as peripheral engines, their thrust chambers evenly mounted on the external frame circumferentially around the axis of the central engine's thrust chamber; each engine's thrust chamber is connected to the servo drive end of an external servo mechanism; the turbopump of the central engine is located between any two adjacent peripheral engines circumferentially, and its axis is equidistant from the axes of the two adjacent peripheral engines. This invention enables a 5-engine layout for a 3.35m rocket body diameter, increasing takeoff thrust by 25% compared to the previous 4-engine layout; it can also accommodate a 7-engine layout for a 3.8m rocket body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a rocket engine, specifically to an open-cycle liquid oxygen-kerosene rocket engine structure. Background Technology

[0002] Open-cycle liquid oxygen-kerosene rocket engines have advantages such as simple system, low working pressure of post-pump components, high thrust-to-weight ratio, non-toxicity, no pollution, and reusability.

[0003] See Figure 1 The first-stage rocket engine typically uses four engines in parallel to provide flight propulsion. Specifically, the thrust chambers 1 of the four engines are evenly mounted on the external frame 02 along the circumference. The turbopump 22 is mounted on the thrust chamber 1. The servo drive end of the external servo mechanism 01 is connected to the thrust chamber 1. Under the drive of the external servo mechanism 01, each engine swings and combines to provide flight control force for the rocket.

[0004] However, with the continuous development of the aerospace industry, the thrust requirements for rockets are also increasing. The existing four-engine parallel configuration has a small number of engines and low thrust, which is no longer able to meet the needs of high-thrust rockets. Therefore, it is urgent to install more engines within a certain rocket body diameter to further improve the rocket's carrying capacity and application range. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to solve the technical problem that the existing four-engine parallel configuration has relatively low thrust, which is difficult to meet the requirements of high-thrust rockets, and to provide an open-cycle liquid oxygen-kerosene rocket engine structure.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0007] An open-cycle liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engine structure, characterized by the following features:

[0008] It includes five or seven engines; each engine includes a thrust chamber and a turbopump mounted on the thrust chamber;

[0009] One of the engines is an intermediate unit, with its thrust chamber installed in the middle of the external frame;

[0010] All other engines are considered peripheral units, with their thrust chambers evenly mounted on the external frame along the circumferential direction, centered on the axis of the thrust chamber of the intermediate unit.

[0011] Each engine's thrust chamber is connected to the servo drive end of an external servo mechanism. Each edge unit is used to swing tangentially along its own set swing plane under the drive of the external servo mechanism, and the middle unit is used to swing along a set direction under the drive of the external servo mechanism.

[0012] Define the virtual circle enclosed by the axes of all edge unit thrust chambers as the mounting circle, then the axial midpoint of each edge unit thrust chamber and the tangent plane of the mounting circle are the respective set swing planes.

[0013] The axis of each edge unit turbopump is located in the corresponding swing plane, and the turbopump of each edge unit is located on the same side of its corresponding thrust chamber along the circumferential direction.

[0014] The turbine pump of the intermediate unit is located between any two adjacent edge units along the circumferential direction, and its axis is equidistant from the axis of the two adjacent edge units.

[0015] Furthermore, the engine also includes an oxidizer main valve, a fuel main valve, a fuel isolation valve, a constant level seat, a heat exchanger, an exhaust pipe, an oxygen swing hose, and a fuel swing hose;

[0016] The turbopump includes an oxidizer pump, a fuel pump, and a turbine connected in sequence in a coaxial configuration.

[0017] The turbopump is mounted on one side of the thrust chamber via a pump mounting bracket, and the connection point between the servo drive end of the external servo mechanism and the thrust chamber is located on the opposite side of the thrust chamber from the turbopump.

[0018] The inlet of the oxidizer pump is connected to the rocket body delivery pipeline via an oxygen swing hose, and the outlet of the oxidizer pump is connected to the oxidizer main valve via an oxygen main pipe. The oxidizer main valve is mounted on the top of the thrust chamber via a support seat. The constant level seat is mounted on the top of the support seat and is used to connect to the external frame to transmit the swing thrust during swinging.

[0019] The inlet of the fuel pump is connected to the rocket body fuel pipeline in sequence through the S-transition pipe, the fuel swing hose, and the fuel isolation valve; the outlet of the fuel pump is connected to the thrust chamber in sequence through the fuel pump downstream pipeline one, the fuel main valve, and the fuel pump downstream pipeline two, and the fuel main valve is installed on the pump mounting bracket.

[0020] The heat exchanger is mounted on the outlet ring of the turbine, and the exhaust pipe is mounted at the outlet of the heat exchanger.

[0021] Furthermore, the axis of the fuel swing hose passes through the swing center of the constant level seat;

[0022] The oxidant main valve inlet and outlet have a 90° angle, the fuel pump downstream pipeline one has a 90° bend, and the fuel pump downstream pipeline two is S-shaped.

[0023] Furthermore, the exhaust pipe is a Laval pipe.

[0024] Furthermore, the axial direction of the exhaust pipe is provided with an angle of 5° to 10° with the axial direction of the thrust chamber, preferably 7°.

[0025] Furthermore, the engine also includes a gas generator, an oxidizer auxiliary valve, an oxygen auxiliary check valve, a fuel auxiliary valve, a control electric valve, a purge electric valve, a thrust chamber igniter, a generator igniter, and a propellant starter.

[0026] The gas generator is vertically mounted on the intake ring of the turbine, and the fuel auxiliary valve is mounted on the top of the gas generator. The fuel auxiliary valve is connected to the fuel pump downstream pipeline in sequence through the fuel auxiliary conduit and the fuel auxiliary throttling assembly.

[0027] The oxygen auxiliary check valve is installed on the top of the gas generator, and the oxidant auxiliary valve is installed on the oxygen main pipe. The oxygen auxiliary check valve is connected to the oxidant auxiliary valve in sequence through the oxygen auxiliary conduit and the oxygen auxiliary throttling assembly.

[0028] The thrust chamber igniter is vertically fixed to the body of the thrust chamber, the generator igniter is installed on the top of the gas generator, and the gunpowder starter is installed on the intake ring of the turbine. The control electric valve and the purging electric valve are installed on the pump mounting bracket. The control electric valve is connected to the oxidizer main valve, the fuel main valve, the oxidizer auxiliary valve, and the fuel auxiliary valve, respectively. The purging electric valve is connected to the gas generator and the head of the thrust chamber, respectively.

[0029] Furthermore, the oxygen-leading conduit is a π-shaped conduit.

[0030] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0031] 1. This invention can realize a 5-engine layout with a 3.35m rocket body diameter, which increases the takeoff thrust of the rocket by 25% compared to the original 4-engine layout, so that the second-stage rocket's carrying capacity covers the original three-stage rocket's carrying capacity. In addition, the engine can be adapted to a 7-engine layout with a 3.8m rocket body. The engine has multiple start-up and continuous thrust variation functions, which can realize the vertical landing and recovery of the first stage and has the ability to be reused.

[0032] 2. The layout structure of this invention has the advantages of fewer system components, smaller envelope space, and better manufacturability. The oxygen auxiliary system requires no pre-cooling, eliminating the need for a pre-cooling return pipeline for the oxygen auxiliary circuit. The ignition conduit is located after the main fuel valve, eliminating the need for a one-way valve with a high opening pressure differential and an ignition circuit purge valve. The main oxygen conduit is π-shaped, making it easy to file and repair, and highly adaptable to different assembly positions. Attached Figure Description

[0033] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of the first-stage engine of a rocket with a current four-engine layout;

[0034] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the five-machine layout in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the seven-machine layout in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the engine structure in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 Top view.

[0038] In the picture:

[0039] 01-Servo mechanism, 02-Frame;

[0040] 1-Thrust chamber, 2-Gas generator, 3-Oxidant pump, 4-Fuel pump, 5-Turbine, 6-Oxidant main valve, 7-Oxidant auxiliary valve, 8-Oxygen auxiliary check valve, 9-Fuel main valve, 10-Fuel auxiliary valve, 11-Fuel isolation valve, 12-Control electric valve, 13-Purge electric valve, 14-Thrust chamber igniter, 15-Generator igniter, 16-Powder starter, 17-Heat exchanger, 18-Oxygen swing hose, 19-Fuel swing hose, 20-Normal level seat, 21-Exhaust pipe, 22-Turbine pump, 23-S transition pipe, 24-Bearing seat, 25-Oxygen main pipe, 26-Fuel pump afterline 1, 27-Fuel pump afterline 2, 28-Fuel auxiliary conduit, 29-Fuel auxiliary throttling assembly, 30-Oxygen auxiliary conduit, 31-Oxygen auxiliary throttling assembly. Detailed Implementation

[0041] To make the objectives, advantages, and features of the present invention clearer, the following detailed description of an open-cycle liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engine structure proposed by the present invention, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, will further illustrate these points. The advantages and features of the present invention will become clearer according to the following specific embodiments. It should be noted that the accompanying drawings are all in a very simplified form and use non-precise proportions, and are only used to conveniently and clearly assist in illustrating the objectives of the embodiments of the present invention; furthermore, the structures shown in the drawings are often part of the actual structures.

[0042] See Figure 2 and Figure 3 This embodiment describes an open-cycle liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engine structure, comprising five or seven engines.

[0043] For details, see Figure 4 and Figure 5The engine mainly includes a thrust chamber 1, an oxidizer pump 3, a fuel pump 4, a turbine 5, an oxidizer main valve 6, a fuel main valve 9, a fuel isolation valve 11, a constant level seat 20, a heat exchanger 17, an exhaust pipe 21, an oxygen swing hose 18, a fuel swing hose 19, a gas generator 2, an oxidizer auxiliary valve 7, an oxygen auxiliary check valve 8, a fuel auxiliary valve 10, a fuel isolation valve 11, a control electric valve 12, a purge electric valve 13, a thrust chamber igniter 14, a generator igniter 15, and a propellant starter 16, etc.

[0044] Among them, the oxidizer pump 3, the fuel pump 4 and the turbine 5 are connected in sequence in a coaxial manner to form the turbine pump 22.

[0045] The turbopump 22 is mounted on one side of the thrust chamber 1 via a pump mounting bracket. The connection between the servo drive end of the external servo mechanism 01 and the thrust chamber 1 is located on the opposite side of the thrust chamber 1 and the turbopump 22. Thus, the servo drive end drives the thrust chamber 1 (i.e. the engine) to swing, thereby achieving flight control of the rocket.

[0046] The inlet of oxidizer pump 3 is connected to the rocket body delivery pipeline via oxygen swing hose 18. The connection between oxygen swing hose 18 and the rocket body delivery pipeline is rigidly fixed to prevent interference from force and displacement between the rocket body delivery pipeline and the engine pipeline. After the rocket is filled with liquid oxygen, oxygen precooling begins. The outlet of oxidizer pump 3 is connected to oxidizer main valve 6 via oxygen main pipe 25. Oxidizer main valve 6 is mounted on top of thrust chamber 1 via support seat 24. There is a 90° angle between the inlet and outlet of oxidizer main valve 6. The constant level seat 20 is mounted on top of support seat 24 and connected to the external frame 02 to realize thrust transmission, thereby meeting the swing requirements between thrust chamber 1 and frame 02.

[0047] The inlet of fuel pump 4 is connected to the rocket body fuel line in sequence via S-transition pipe 23, fuel swing hose 19, and fuel isolation valve 11. The axis of fuel swing hose 19 passes through the swing center of the constant level seat 20, so that fuel swing hose 19 only needs to compensate for angular displacement, and fuel isolation valve 11 can isolate the fuel lines of the engine and the rocket. The outlet of fuel pump 4 is connected to thrust chamber 1 in sequence via fuel pump post-pipeline 1 26, fuel main valve 9, and fuel pump post-pipeline 27. Fuel main valve 9 is mounted on the pump mounting bracket, fuel pump post-pipeline 1 26 has a 90° bend, and fuel pump post-pipeline 27 is S-shaped.

[0048] The heat exchanger 17 and the exhaust pipe 21 form an exhaust unit. The heat exchanger 17 is installed on the outlet ring of the turbine 5, and the exhaust pipe 21 is installed at the outlet of the heat exchanger 17. The exhaust pipe 21 is a Laval pipe, which makes the work of the turbine 5 unaffected by atmospheric altitude. At the same time, the axial direction of the exhaust pipe 21 is set at an angle of about 5° to 10° with the axial direction of the thrust chamber 1. In this embodiment, the angle is specifically 7°. The exhaust gas of the turbine 5 is directly discharged to the outside, and the exhaust device has a simple structure.

[0049] The gas generator 2 is vertically mounted on the intake ring of the turbine 5. The fuel auxiliary valve 10 is mounted on the top of the gas generator 2. The fuel auxiliary valve 10 is connected to the fuel pump downstream pipeline 26 through the fuel auxiliary conduit 28 and the fuel auxiliary throttling assembly 29.

[0050] The oxygen auxiliary check valve 8 is installed on the top of the gas generator 2, and the oxidant auxiliary valve 7 is installed on the oxygen main pipe 25. The oxygen main pipe 25 is π-shaped and is pre-cooled through the main line. There is no need to set up a pre-cooling return path. The oxygen auxiliary check valve 8 is connected to the oxidant auxiliary valve 7 through the oxygen auxiliary conduit 30 and the oxygen auxiliary throttling assembly 31.

[0051] The thrust chamber igniter 14 is vertically fixed to the body of the thrust chamber 1, shortening the length of the igniter pipeline. The generator igniter 15 is installed on the top of the gas generator 2 in a vertical layout. The gunpowder starter 16 is installed on the intake ring of the turbine 5. The control electric valve 12 and the purging electric valve 13 are installed on the pump mounting bracket. The control electric valve 12 is connected to the oxidizer main valve 6, the fuel main valve 9, the oxidizer auxiliary valve 7, and the fuel auxiliary valve 10, respectively. The purging electric valve 13 is connected to the head of the gas generator 2 and the thrust chamber 1, respectively.

[0052] One of the engines serves as the intermediate unit, with its thrust chamber 1 installed in the middle of the outer frame 02; the remaining engines serve as edge units, with their thrust chambers 1 evenly installed on the outer frame 02 in a circular direction, centered on the axis of the intermediate unit's thrust chamber 1. The axis of the intermediate unit is equidistant from the axes of the two adjacent edge units.

[0053] Each engine's thrust chamber 1 is connected to the servo drive end of the external servo mechanism 01. Each edge unit swings tangentially along its own preset swing plane under the drive of the servo mechanism 01. The virtual circle enclosed by the axes of all edge unit thrust chambers 1 is defined as the mounting circle. The axial midpoint of each edge unit thrust chamber 1 and the tangent plane of the mounting circle are its own preset swing plane. The axis of the oxygen swing hose 18 in the edge unit is located within the swing plane.

[0054] The intermediate unit oscillates along a set direction under the drive of the external servo mechanism 01. Specifically, the intermediate unit oscillates within a quadrant plane, where the quadrant plane refers to... Figure 2 or Figure 3In this diagram, the axis of the central extension is taken as the central origin, the line connecting any two edge extensions passing through this central origin is taken as the X-axis, and the straight line passing through the central origin and perpendicular to the X-axis is taken as the Y-axis. At this point, the X-axis and Y-axis are about to... Figure 2 and Figure 3 The plane is divided into four quadrants, and the middle extension swings within each of the four quadrants.

[0055] The axis of each edge sub-unit turbopump 22 is located in the corresponding swing plane, and the turbopump 22 of each edge sub-unit is located on the same side of its respective thrust chamber 1 along the circumferential direction; the turbopump 22 of the middle sub-unit is located between any two adjacent edge sub-units along the circumferential direction. By swinging the edge sub-units and the middle sub-units, the rocket can be provided with flight control force.

Claims

1. An open-cycle liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engine structure, characterized in that: It includes five or seven engines; said engines include a thrust chamber (1) and a turbopump (22) mounted on the thrust chamber (1); One of the engines is used as an intermediate unit, and its thrust chamber (1) is installed in the middle of the external frame (02); All the other engines are considered as peripheral units, and their thrust chambers (1) are evenly installed on the outer frame (02) along the circumferential direction with the axis of the thrust chamber (1) of the intermediate unit as the center. Each engine's thrust chamber (1) is connected to the servo drive end of the external servo mechanism (01). Each edge sub-machine is used to swing tangentially along its own set swing plane under the drive of the external servo mechanism (01), and the middle sub-machine is used to swing along a set direction under the drive of the external servo mechanism (01). Define the virtual circle enclosed by the axes of all edge unit thrust chambers (1) as the installation circle, then the axial midpoint of each edge unit thrust chamber (1) and the tangent of the installation circle are the respective set swing planes. The axis of each of the edge unit turbo pumps (22) is located in the corresponding swing plane, and the turbo pumps (22) of each edge unit are located on the same side of their respective thrust chambers (1) along the circumferential direction. The turbine pump (22) of the intermediate unit is located between any two adjacent edge units along the circumferential direction, and its axis is equidistant from the axis of the two adjacent edge units.

2. The structure of an open-cycle liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The turbopump (22) is mounted on one side of the thrust chamber (1) via a pump mounting bracket, and the connection between the servo drive end of the external servo mechanism (01) and the thrust chamber (1) is located on the other side of the thrust chamber (1) opposite to the turbopump (22). The engine also includes an oxidizer main valve (6), a fuel main valve (9), a fuel isolation valve (11), a constant level seat (20), a heat exchanger (17), an exhaust pipe (21), an oxygen swing hose (18), and a fuel swing hose (19); The turbopump (22) includes an oxidizer pump (3), a fuel pump (4) and a turbine (5) connected in sequence in a coaxial configuration; The inlet of the oxidizer pump (3) is connected to the rocket body delivery pipeline through the oxygen swing hose (18), and the outlet of the oxidizer pump (3) is connected to the oxidizer main valve (6) through the oxygen main pipe (25). The oxidizer main valve (6) is installed on the top of the thrust chamber (1) through the support seat (24). The constant level seat (20) is installed on the top of the support seat (24) for connecting with the external frame (02) and transmitting the swing thrust during swinging. The inlet of the fuel pump (4) is connected to the rocket body fuel pipeline in sequence through the S transition pipe (23), fuel swing hose (19), and fuel isolation valve (11); the outlet of the fuel pump (4) is connected to the thrust chamber (1) in sequence through the fuel pump rear pipeline one (26), fuel main valve (9), and fuel pump rear pipeline two (27), and the fuel main valve (9) is installed on the pump mounting bracket; The heat exchanger (17) is installed on the outlet ring of the turbine (5), and the exhaust pipe (21) is installed at the outlet of the heat exchanger (17).

3. The structure of an open-cycle liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engine according to claim 2, characterized in that: The axis of the fuel swing hose (19) passes through the swing center of the constant level seat (20); The oxidant main valve (6) has a 90° angle between its inlet and outlet, the fuel pump downstream pipeline one (26) has a 90° bend, and the fuel pump downstream pipeline two (27) is S-shaped.

4. The structure of an open-cycle liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engine according to claim 3, characterized in that: The exhaust pipe (21) is a Laval pipe.

5. The structure of an open-cycle liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engine according to claim 4, characterized in that: The exhaust pipe (21) is provided with an angle of 5° to 10° between its axial direction and the thrust chamber (1).

6. The structure of an open-cycle liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engine according to claim 5, characterized in that: The exhaust pipe (21) is set at a 7° angle with the thrust chamber (1).

7. The structure of an open-cycle liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engine according to claim 6, characterized in that: The engine also includes a gas generator (2), an oxidizer auxiliary valve (7), an oxygen auxiliary check valve (8), a fuel auxiliary valve (10), a control electric valve (12), a purge electric valve (13), a thrust chamber igniter (14), a generator igniter (15), and a gunpowder starter (16). The gas generator (2) is vertically mounted on the intake ring of the turbine (5), and the fuel auxiliary valve (10) is mounted on the top of the gas generator (2). The fuel auxiliary valve (10) is connected to the fuel pump downstream pipeline (26) in sequence through the fuel auxiliary conduit (28) and the fuel auxiliary throttling assembly (29). The oxygen auxiliary check valve (8) is installed on the top of the gas generator (2), and the oxidant auxiliary valve (7) is installed on the oxygen main pipe (25). The oxygen auxiliary check valve (8) is connected to the oxidant auxiliary valve (7) in sequence through the oxygen auxiliary conduit (30) and the oxygen auxiliary throttling assembly (31). The thrust chamber igniter (14) is vertically fixed to the body of the thrust chamber (1), the generator igniter (15) is installed on the top of the gas generator (2), and the gunpowder starter (16) is installed on the intake ring of the turbine (5). The control electric valve (12) and the purge electric valve (13) are installed on the pump mounting bracket. The control electric valve (12) is connected to the oxidizer main valve (6), the fuel main valve (9), the oxidizer auxiliary valve (7), and the fuel auxiliary valve (10) respectively. The purge electric valve (13) is connected to the head of the gas generator (2) and the thrust chamber (1) respectively.

8. The structure of an open-cycle liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engine according to claim 7, characterized in that: The oxygen-leading conduit (25) is a π-shaped conduit.

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