Axial Tip Turbine Driven Pump for Rocket Propellant Feed
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current turbopump feed systems for liquid propellant rocket engines are heavy, require complex mechanical transmission drives, and need high propellant tank pressures, which increase system weight and reduce payload capacity.
Innovation Solution
A turbopump feed system with a single rotor shaft and hydraulic turbine driving high-pressure pumps, featuring low-pressure inducer pumps uncoupled from the main shaft, driven by bleed-off fluid, reducing the need for reduction gearboxes and using less ducting and valving, with a compact design that operates at different speeds for fuel and oxidizer pumps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single rotor shaft with hydraulic turbine is used to drive both high-pressure pumps, then device complexity is reduced and weight is lowered, but the pumps must operate at the same shaft speed which limits operational flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The pump system is segmented into two independent low-pressure inducer pumps (one for fuel, one for oxidizer) that are not mechanically coupled to each other or to the main shaft. This allows each inducer pump to be independently controlled and operated at different speeds, providing operational flexibility while maintaining a simple single-shaft turbine drive system for the high-pressure pumps.
2Reliability
If high propellant tank pressures are used to feed the pumps, then pump inlet pressure requirements are met, but system weight increases due to heavier tanks
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a hydraulic turbine driven by high-pressure propellant gas to mechanically boost the propellant pressure before it enters the pumps. This hydraulic approach allows the tanks to operate at lower pressures while still providing sufficient pump inlet pressure, thereby reducing tank weight while maintaining reliable pump operation.
3Ease of manufacture
If centrifugal pumps with single stage design are used, then manufacturing is simpler and cost is lower, but the ability to handle large flows at high pressures is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges a low-pressure single-stage inducer pump with a high-pressure centrifugal pump into an integrated two-stage pump assembly. The inducer pump handles the low-pressure, high-flow portion of the task, while the centrifugal pump handles the high-pressure portion. This combination allows the system to handle large flows at high pressures while keeping each individual pump stage relatively simple to manufacture.
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 system achieves a lighter, more efficient turbopump design with reduced tank weight requirements, enabling higher-speed operation of high-pressure pumps, thus lowering overall system weight and cost while maintaining reliable performance.
Implementation Method 1
A turbopump includes a single rotor shaft with a hydraulic turbine located between the two pumps
Implementation Method 2
An inducer, an axial flow rotor, increases total pressure of the entering fluid sufficiently to permit non-cavitating operation of the main impeller
Implementation Method 3
A centrifugal pump will accelerate the fluid flow by imparting kinetic energy to the fluid in the rotor and then decelerating, or diffusing, the fluid in the stator. This results in increased fluid pressure head
Data Source
AI summary
An axial tip turbine driven pump in which a first fluid pumped by an inducer is driven by a second fluid that reacts with a turbine blade extending from a shroud on the inducer. The inducer includes a set of screw thread blades and a second set of partial blades that are covered by a shroud in the aft section of the inducer. A row of turbine blades extends from the shroud and into a manifold that forms the outer casing for the pump. The fluid flow through the manifold reacts with the turbine blades and drives the inducer to pump the fluid from the inlet and through guide vanes downstream from the inducer. The fluid passing through the turbine blades is collected in an outlet collector manifold and discharged into the fluid flowing through the guide vanes. The inducer with the turbine blades is rotatably supported within the housing formed by the guide vane support member and the manifold casing. The swirl flow direction of the turbine blades is opposite to that of the swirl flow in the inducer. The structure that rejoins the two fluids redirects the turbine blade flow into the same swirl direction as the inducer flow.