Air-Breathing Rocket Engine With Pressure-Driven Intake
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current rocket engines require carrying both fuel and oxygen into space, increasing weight and maintenance costs, while jet engines use ambient air for combustion, reducing the need for oxygen carryover. Additionally, existing engine designs rely on moving parts that can lead to catastrophic failures and high maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
A rocket engine design with no moving parts that uses ambient fluid as reaction mass and oxidizer, featuring a primary and secondary combustion chamber within a single-piece shell, where the pressure differential from the primary combustion chamber draws ambient fluid into the secondary chamber for additional combustion, reducing the need for carried oxidizer and eliminating moving parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rocket engines carry both fuel and oxygen into space, then combustion can be sustained in vacuum, but weight increases and maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the oxygen supply function from the traditional rocket engine by introducing a separate oxygen intake system that draws ambient air into the combustion chamber during atmospheric flight, eliminating the need to carry all oxidizer onboard and reducing weight
Solution Approach 2:
The combustion chamber is designed to serve multiple functions: it receives fuel and oxidizer from storage tanks during vacuum operation, and simultaneously intakes ambient air during atmospheric flight, making the system adaptable to different operational environments
2Weight of moving object
If jet engines use ambient air for combustion, then oxygen carryover is reduced, but moving parts increase manufacturing and maintenance costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes all moving parts from the engine design by eliminating compressors, turbines, and other mechanical components, relying instead on pressure differentials created by combustion and exhaust flow to drive the intake and exhaust processes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical compression system with a pressure-based system where combustion-generated pressure differentials naturally draw in ambient air through the intake and expel exhaust gases, eliminating the need for mechanical compressors and turbines
3Ease of operation
If jet engines have moving parts such as compressors, then air intake and combustion can be sustained, but catastrophic failure risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the compressor function from the system by using pressure differentials generated during combustion and exhaust to naturally draw air through the intake, eliminating moving parts that could fail catastrophically
Solution Approach 2:
The engine design allows the combustion process itself to generate the pressure differentials needed for air intake and exhaust flow, making the system self-regulating without requiring external mechanical assistance or control systems
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The engine achieves thrust generation with reduced oxidizer requirements and eliminates the risk of moving part failures, maintaining structural integrity and reducing maintenance needs, while utilizing ambient fluid as reaction mass for efficient propulsion.
Implementation Method 1
The primary combustion chamber is used to combust a mixture of fuel and oxidizer
Implementation Method 2
ejection of mass from the primary combustion chamber into the secondary combustion chamber causes a pressure differential that causes ambient fluid to be drawn into the secondary combustion chamber via the intake
Implementation Method 3
The secondary combustion chamber is used to combust a mixture of ambient fluid received via the intake and uncombusted mass expelled from the primary combustion chamber
Implementation Method 4
Both types of engines produce thrust through an internal pressure difference, and both eject exhaust gases in a direction that is opposite to that of the path of travel of the engine
Data Source
AI summary
An air-breathing rocket engine in certain embodiments comprises an outer shell and an interior portion situated entirely within the front end of the outer shell. The interior portion includes a funnel-shaped intake and an annular primary combustion chamber between the inner front wall of the shell and the outer surface of the funnel-shaped intake. The intake has a central aperture that is in fluid communication with the throat and exhaust areas within the outer shell. A second circumferential gap is formed between the outer surface of the front inner wall and the inner surface of the front end of the outer shell and is in fluid communication with the throat and exhaust areas within the outer shell. One or more injector ports and one or more ignition ports are situated at the front end of the second circumferential gap.