Setup for testing working process of detonation liquid rocket engine

Abstract

FIELD: aerodynamic testing.SUBSTANCE: invention can be used for research tests of aviation and rocket equipment. The setup for studying the working process of a detonation liquid rocket engine is equipped with a dynamometric platform mechanically connected to a support frame using elastic elements, and a longitudinal displacement strain gauge rigidly connected on one side to the support frame, on the other side mechanically connected to the dynamometric platform and connected to an automatic control system. The engine under test is mounted on a dynamometer platform, the starting device is equipped with a gas generator, a gas turbine with a drive shaft, the input of which is connected to the output of the gas generator, and a recuperative heat exchanger, the input of which is connected to the output of the gas turbine. The fuel pump and the supercharger of the oxidizer supply system are equipped with drive turbines and are configured for connection to the drive shaft of the gas turbine of the starting device. The nozzle section of the outer housing of the engine being tested is made with a tapering section, connected on one side with the cylindrical part of the outer housing, and on the other side with its expanding section, the cooling jacket of which is made isolated from the cooling jacket of the rest of the outer housing. The fuel line is connected to the fuel injectors through the cooling jacket of the expanding section of the outer housing and the drive turbine of the fuel pump. The oxidizer supply system pipeline is connected to the oxidizer supply manifold through the cooling jacket of the rest of the outer housing, the cooling jacket of the inner housing and the supercharger drive turbine. The fuel line and the oxidizer supply system pipeline are connected to the recuperative heat exchanger through distribution devices.EFFECT: functional capabilities of installation are expanded by optimizing the start-up modes and transition to the tested operating modes of the test engine and regulating the detonation combustion parameters during the test.1 cl, 3 dwg

Description

[0001] The invention relates to the field of aerodynamic testing and can be used to conduct research tests of aviation and rocket technology.

[0002] At the end of the last century and the beginning of this century, numerous fundamental and applied studies were conducted on the operating process of pulse detonation engines, focusing in particular on the continuous detonation combustion of a wide range of fuels in chambers of various configurations. A summary of these research results is contained, in particular, in the book "Continuous Spin Detonation" by F.A. Bykovsky and S.A. Zhdan, M.A. Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 2013.

[0003] Research work aimed at improving the efficiency of the working process of detonation rocket engines has not lost its relevance to this day.

[0004] A device is known for studying (testing) a detonation liquid rocket engine, comprising a support frame with measuring equipment, a test engine mounted on it, having a hollow outer casing with cooling jackets, consisting of cylindrical and nozzle parts, and an inner casing with a cooling cavity, placed in the cavity of the outer casing with the formation between them of a supersonic nozzle with an outlet opening and an annular combustion chamber with oxidizer supply channels, fuel injectors and an igniter, a fuel system with a liquid fuel source, a fuel pump, and a fuel line connected to it, connected through distribution devices with the fuel injectors of the test engine, and an oxidizer supply system with an oxidizer source, a supercharger and a pipeline connected to it, connected through distribution devices with the oxidizer supply channels (patent US 8544280, 2013).

[0005] In the known setup, the fuel line of the fuel system is connected to the fuel injectors through the cooling jacket of the outer casing of the test engine to heat and gasify the fuel. Among the drawbacks of the known setup is that it does not include special means for regulating the static pressure, amplitude, and frequency of spin detonation waves in the annular combustion chamber, which significantly limits the test range of the test engine.

[0006] Furthermore, the known installation cannot be used to study the working process of a detonation liquid rocket engine, in which the fuel pump and the liquid oxidizer supercharger are driven by turbines operating on heated and gasified fuel and oxidizer, respectively, as shown, for example, in EP 4198295, published 2023.

[0007] The closest analogue of the claimed invention in technical essence and purpose is an installation for studying the working process of a detonation liquid rocket engine, containing a support frame, a test engine with measuring equipment, having a hollow outer casing with cooling jackets, consisting of cylindrical and nozzle parts, and an inner casing with a cooling cavity, placed in the cavity of the outer casing with the formation between them of a supersonic nozzle with an outlet opening and an annular combustion chamber with an oxidizer supply manifold, fuel injectors and an igniter, a starting device for the test engine, a fuel system with a liquid fuel source, a fuel pump, and a fuel line connected to it, connected through a distribution device with the fuel injectors of the test engine, an oxidizer supply system with a liquid oxidizer source, a supercharger and a pipeline connected to it,connected through a distribution device to the oxidizer supply manifold, as well as an automatic control system with a command unit, connected to the measuring equipment of the engine being tested and connected to the starting device and to the distribution devices of the fuel line and pipeline (RU Patent No. 2674117, priority dated 04.10.2017).,

[0008] In the known installation, the implementation of an annular combustion chamber from outer and inner coaxially installed cooled housings makes it possible to increase the limit parameters of the working process of the tested engine and the duration of its operation in limit modes.

[0009] However, the functionality of the known installation for recreating the actual operating conditions of a detonation liquid rocket engine, in which the fuel pump and liquid oxidizer supercharger are driven by turbines operating on heated and gasified fuel and oxidizer, is significantly limited due to the absence of a special starting device with a recuperative heat exchanger in the installation.

[0010] Furthermore, the known installation does not allow simulating the operating conditions of the tested engine in a wide range of its parameters due to the fact that the installation does not provide any means for regulating the parameters of the gasified fuel and oxidizer supplied to the annular combustion chamber.

[0011] The technical problem solved by the invention is the lack in the known installation of reliable means for initiating and maintaining the detonation combustion process in the engine being tested during research tests in all possible modes of its operation.

[0012] The technical result of the invention is the expansion of the functional capabilities of the installation by optimizing the start-up modes and transition to the studied operating modes of the test engine and regulating the parameters of detonation combustion during the study.

[0013] The technical result is achieved due to the fact that the installation for studying the working process of a detonation liquid rocket engine contains a support frame, a test engine with measuring equipment, having a hollow outer casing with cooling jackets, consisting of cylindrical and nozzle parts, and an inner casing with a cooling cavity, placed in the cavity of the outer casing with the formation between them of a supersonic nozzle with an outlet opening and an annular combustion chamber with an oxidizer supply manifold, fuel injectors and an igniter, a starting device for the test engine, a fuel system with a liquid fuel source, a fuel pump, and a fuel line connected to it, connected through distribution devices with the fuel injectors of the test engine, an oxidizer supply system with a liquid oxidizer source, a supercharger and a pipeline connected to it,connected through distribution devices to the oxidizer supply manifold, as well as an automatic control system with a command unit, connected to the measuring equipment of the engine under test and connected through the command unit to the starting device and to the distribution devices of the fuel line and pipeline. The installation is equipped with a dynamometer platform, mechanically connected to the support frame by means of elastic elements, and a longitudinal displacement strain gauge, rigidly connected on one side to the support frame, on the other side mechanically connected to the dynamometer platform and connected to the automatic control system, the engine under test is fixed on the dynamometer platform, the starting device is equipped with a gas generator, a gas turbine with a drive shaft, the input connected to the output of the gas generator, and a recuperative heat exchanger, to the input of which the output of the gas turbine is connected,the fuel pump and the supercharger of the oxidizer supply system are equipped with drive turbines and are installed with the possibility of connection to the drive shaft of the gas turbine of the starting device, the nozzle part of the outer casing of the engine being tested is made with a tapering section, connected on one side with the cylindrical part of the outer casing, and on the other side - with its expanding section, the cooling jacket of which is made insulated from the cooling jacket of the rest of the outer casing, and the fuel line is connected to the fuel injectors through the cooling jacket of the expanding section of the outer casing and the drive turbine of the fuel pump, and the pipeline of the oxidizer supply system is connected to the oxidizer supply manifold through the cooling jacket of the rest of the outer casing, the cooling jacket of the inner casing and the drive turbine of the supercharger,in this case, the fuel line and the pipeline of the oxidizer supply system are connected through distribution devices to the recuperative heat exchanger,

[0014] The significance of the distinctive features of the installation for studying the working process of a detonation liquid rocket engine is confirmed by the fact that only the combination of all design features describing the invention makes it possible to achieve the technical result of the invention - the expansion of the functional capabilities of the installation by optimizing the start-up modes and the transition to the studied operating modes of the test engine and regulating the parameters of detonation combustion during the study.

[0015] The proposed invention is explained by a description of the design of an installation for studying the working process of a detonation liquid rocket engine and its operation with reference to the drawings, where:

[0016] Fig. 1 shows a general diagram of the installation for studying the working process of a detonation liquid rocket engine; Fig. 2 shows view A of Fig. 1;

[0017] Fig. 3 shows a diagram of an automatic control system with a command block and a comparison block.

[0018] The installation for studying the working process of a detonation liquid rocket engine contains a test engine 1 (Fig. 1) having a hollow outer casing 2 with cooling jackets 3 and 4, consisting of a cylindrical part 5 and a nozzle part 6, wherein the nozzle part 6 of the outer casing 2 of the test engine is made with a narrowing section 7, connected on one side with the cylindrical part 5 of the outer casing 2, and on the other side - with its expanding section 8, the cooling jacket 4 of which is made isolated from the cooling jacket 3 of the remaining part of the outer casing 2.

[0019] The engine under test 1 contains an inner casing 9 with a cooling cavity 10, placed in the cavity of the outer casing 2 with the formation between them of an annular combustion chamber 11 (Fig. 2) with an oxidizer supply manifold 12, fuel injectors 13 and an igniter 14 and a supersonic nozzle 15 with an outlet opening 16.

[0020] The installation is provided with a support frame 17 (Fig. 3), a dynamometric platform 18, mechanically connected to the support frame 17 by means of elastic elements 19, and a longitudinal displacement strain gauge 20, rigidly connected on one side to the support frame 17, on the other side mechanically connected to the dynamometric platform 18.

[0021] The engine under test 1 is secured on a dynamometer platform 18 and has a fuel system with a liquid fuel source 21, a fuel pump 22, and a fuel line 23 connected to it, connected through a distributor 24 with fuel injectors 13 of the engine under test 1, and an oxidizer supply system with a liquid oxidizer source 25, a supercharger 26 and a pipeline 27 connected to it, connected through a distributor 28 with an oxidizer supply manifold 12.

[0022] The installation has a starting device 29 for the engine 1 under test, which is equipped with a gas generator 30, a gas turbine 31 with a drive shaft 32, the input of which is connected to the output of the gas generator 30, and a recuperative heat exchanger 33, to the input of which the output of the gas turbine 31 is connected. The fuel pump 22 and the supercharger 26 of the oxidizer supply system are each equipped with their own drive turbine 34 and 35, respectively, and are installed with the possibility of connecting to the drive shaft 32 of the gas turbine 31 of the starting device 29.

[0023] Fuel line 23 of the fuel system is connected to fuel injectors 13 through cooling jacket 4 of expanding section 8 of outer casing 2 and drive turbine 34 of fuel pump 22, and through distributor 24 is connected to recuperative heat exchanger 33. In fuel line 23 in front of distributor 24, fuel flow meter 36 and fuel flow regulator 37 are installed.

[0024] The pipeline 27 of the oxidizer supply system is connected to the oxidizer supply manifold 12 through the cooling jacket 3 of the rest of the outer casing 2, the cooling cavity 10 of the inner casing 9 and the drive turbine 35 of the supercharger 26, and through the distribution device 28 is connected to the recuperative heat exchanger 33. In the pipeline 27 in front of the distribution device 28, an oxidizer flow meter 38 and an oxidizer flow controller 39 are installed.

[0025] On the tested engine 1, measuring equipment is installed to determine the parameters of the working process in the annular combustion chamber 11, in particular, a static pressure sensor 40, a pressure pulsation sensor 41, and temperature sensors 42.

[0026] The installation has an automatic control system 43 with a command unit 44, connected through a comparison unit 45 with a longitudinal displacement strain gauge 20 and with the measuring equipment of the engine being tested 1 and connected through the command unit 44 to the starting device 29, the distribution device 24 of the fuel line 23, the distribution device 28 of the pipeline 27, as well as to the starting valves 46 and the valve 47 of the starting device 29.

[0027] The installation for studying the working process of detonation liquid rocket engine operates as follows.

[0028] Before starting the installation, upon a signal from the automatic control system 43, the command unit 44 opens the starting valves 46, connecting the liquid fuel source 21 with the fuel pump 22 and the fuel line 23, and the liquid oxidizer source 25 with the supercharger 26 and the pipeline 27 with the distribution devices 24 and 28 closed.

[0029] To start the installation, the starting device 29 is switched on, the generation products from the gas generator 30 through the open valve 47 enter the input of the gas turbine 31, spin it up, bringing it to the operating mode, and from the output of the gas turbine 31 are directed into the main internal volume of the recuperative heat exchanger 33.

[0030] The fuel pump 22 and the liquid oxidizer supercharger 26 are connected to the drive shaft 32 of the gas turbine 31 and supply liquid fuel and liquid oxidizer through the distributors 24 and 28 open in the first position to the recuperative heat exchanger 33, in which the fuel and oxidizer are heated, gasified and in a gaseous state are supplied to the fuel injectors 13 and the oxidizer supply manifold 12 of the engine being tested.

[0031] Gaseous components enter annular combustion chamber 11 through fuel injectors 13 and oxidizer supply manifold 12, where they are mixed. Following a signal from command unit 44 to actuate igniter 14, combustion of the resulting gaseous fuel and oxidizer mixture begins. This combustion, in annular combustion chamber 11 with a central body, transitions to combustion of the fuel mixture in continuous spin detonation waves circulating tangentially relative to the main flow in nozzle section 6 of outer casing 2.

[0032] After heating up the cooling jackets 3 and 4 of the outer casing 2 and the cooling cavity 10 of the inner casing 9 to a predetermined temperature, in order to continue the continuous working process in the annular combustion chamber, the distribution devices 24 and 28 are switched to the second position and the liquid components begin to be simultaneously supplied both to the recuperative heat exchanger 33 and to the engine cooling system, i.e., liquid fuel is supplied simultaneously to the recuperative heat exchanger 33 and to the cooling jacket 4 of the expanding section 8 of the nozzle part 6 of the outer casing 2, and the liquid oxidizer is simultaneously supplied to the recuperative heat exchanger 33, to the cooling jacket 3 of the narrowing section 7 and the cylindrical part 5 of the outer casing 2 and to the cooling cavity 10 of the inner casing 9 of the tested engine 1.

[0033] After warming up and gasifying the components in the cooling system of the engine under test 1, the gaseous fuel is fed to the inlet of the drive turbine 34 of the fuel pump 22, and the gaseous oxidizer is fed to the inlet of the drive turbine 35 of the supercharger 26. The drive turbines 34 and 35 are spun up to operating speed, the fuel pump 22 and the supercharger 26 are disconnected from the drive shaft 32 of the gas turbine 31, the distribution devices 24 and 28 are switched to the third position, in which the liquid fuel and liquid oxidizer are fully supplied to the engine cooling system, and the gas generator 30 is disconnected from the recuperative heat exchanger 33 by closing the valve 47. The engine under test 1 operates in the normal mode, and the setup is ready for conducting research.

[0034] The purpose of the study of the working process of a detonation liquid rocket engine is to determine the range of possible operating values ​​of the engine thrust by changing the consumption of fuel and oxidizer.

[0035] In this case, for each value of engine thrust, the values ​​of static pressure, amplitude and frequency of spin detonation waves in the annular combustion chamber 11, the temperature of the outer casing 2 and the inner casing 9 of the tested engine 1 must be determined in the entire required range of test modes.

[0036] When testing, the readings of the longitudinal displacement strain gauge 20, flow meters 36 and 38, static pressure sensor 40, pulsation sensor 41 and temperature sensors 42 are transmitted to the comparison unit 45, where these readings are compared with the values ​​of the operating process parameters specified by the test program.

[0037] Based on the comparison results, a signal is transmitted to the automatic control system 43, which, with the help of the command unit 44, changes the fuel and oxidizer consumption by means of the fuel flow regulator 37 and the oxidizer flow regulator 39, which makes it possible to directly transition from one operating mode to another operating mode of the engine during the research process.

[0038] The test bench systems and design of test engine 1 must ensure reliable initiation and maintenance of stable, continuous high-frequency spin detonation in annular combustion chamber 11 for a specified period of time without structural failure. To prevent structural failure of test engine 1, the test program includes threshold values ​​for operating parameters. When the operating parameters reach these threshold values, automatic control system 43 signals command unit 44 to terminate the test.

[0039] After testing, the setup is shut down in the following order: first, the supply of liquid fuel and oxidizer to fuel pump 22 and supercharger 26 is shut off. This results in the cessation of the supply of components to all cooling jackets 3 and 4 of test engine 1, which leads to the shutdown of drive turbines 34 and 35, and the supply of gaseous components to annular combustion chamber 11, stopping the combustion process. After this, the setup systems and test engine 1 are purged with compressed air.

[0040] In the presented setup for studying the working process of a detonation liquid rocket engine, the design of the test engine with a gas-generator-less system for supplying gaseous components to the combustion chamber is simulated.

[0041] Thus, the setup for studying the working process of a detonation liquid rocket engine allows for the modeling of the combustion process with continuous high-frequency spin detonation waves in the entire required range of modes of the tested engine, which ensures the expansion of the functional capabilities of the setup by optimizing the starting modes and transition to the studied operating modes of the tested engine and regulating the detonation combustion parameters during the study, with the subsequent use of the test results for the creation of new equipment models.

Claims

An apparatus for studying the working process of a detonation liquid rocket engine, comprising a support frame, a test engine with measuring equipment, having a hollow outer casing with cooling jackets, consisting of cylindrical and nozzle parts, and an inner casing with a cooling cavity, placed in the cavity of the outer casing with the formation between them of a supersonic nozzle with an outlet opening and an annular combustion chamber with an oxidizer supply manifold, fuel injectors and an igniter, a starting device for the test engine, a fuel system with a liquid fuel source, a fuel pump and a fuel line connected to it, connected through distribution devices to the fuel injectors of the test engine, an oxidizer supply system with a liquid oxidizer source, a supercharger and a pipeline connected to it, connected through distribution devices to the oxidizer supply manifold,and also an automatic control system with a command unit, connected to the measuring equipment of the engine being tested and connected through the command unit to the starting device and to the distribution devices of the fuel line and pipeline, characterized in that the installation is equipped with a dynamometric platform, mechanically connected to the support frame by means of elastic elements, and a longitudinal displacement strain gauge, rigidly connected on one side to the support frame, on the other side mechanically connected to the dynamometric platform and connected to the automatic control system, the engine being tested is fixed on the dynamometric platform, the starting device is equipped with a gas generator, a gas turbine with a drive shaft, the input of which is connected to the output of the gas generator, and a recuperative heat exchanger, to the input of which the output of the gas turbine is connected,the fuel pump and the supercharger of the oxidizer supply system are equipped with drive turbines and are installed with the possibility of connection to the drive shaft of the gas turbine of the starting device, the nozzle part of the outer casing of the engine being tested is made with a tapering section, connected on one side with the cylindrical part of the outer casing, and on the other side - with its expanding section, the cooling jacket of which is made insulated from the cooling jacket of the rest of the outer casing, and the fuel line is connected to the fuel injectors through the cooling jacket of the expanding section of the outer casing and the drive turbine of the fuel pump, and the pipeline of the oxidizer supply system is connected to the oxidizer supply manifold through the cooling jacket of the rest of the outer casing, the cooling jacket of the inner casing and the drive turbine of the supercharger,in this case, the fuel line and the pipeline of the oxidizer supply system are connected through distribution devices to the recuperative heat exchanger,

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