Integrated Missile Propulsion System with Merged Exhaust Engine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional missile engine designs are complex, heavy, and inefficient, with ejection engines posing risks of injury and detection due to heat radiation and propellant impact, and they reduce the fuel volume, leading to shorter ranges and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
The missile engine design integrates the exhaust engine with the aircraft engine during flight, using the outer wall as a pressurized combustion chamber, eliminating the need for a separate combustion chamber tube and reducing the number of components, while the exhaust engine is carried along to generate starting thrust without ejecting and causing ground impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the exhaust engine is ejected from the starting device after ignition, then the aircraft engine can start, but the starting device becomes detectable and may injure personnel or cause environmental damage
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust engine is merged with the aircraft engine by integrating it into the same pressure tube structure. The exhaust engine remains inside the aircraft engine's pressure tube after ignition, eliminating the ejection process and its associated hazards while maintaining reliable missile launch capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The design converts the potential harm of ejecting the exhaust engine into a benefit by using the exhaust engine's combustion chamber as the pressure tube for both engines. This integration eliminates the need for separate ejection mechanisms and transforms the exhaust engine from a hazardous ejected component into a beneficial integrated part of the aircraft engine system.
2Reliability
If a separate combustion chamber tube is used, then the exhaust engine can be housed, but the overall mass increases and fuel volume decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure tube serves multiple functions: it houses the exhaust engine during the starting phase and serves as the combustion chamber for the aircraft engine during flight. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate combustion chamber tubes, reducing overall mass while maintaining all necessary housing functionalities.
Solution Approach 2:
The exhaust engine housing and aircraft engine combustion chamber are merged into a single integrated pressure tube structure. This combination eliminates redundant components and reduces the overall mass of the engine assembly while providing adequate housing for the exhaust engine and combustion space for the aircraft engine.
3Reliability
If a separate combustion chamber tube is used, then the exhaust engine can be contained, but the fuel volume is reduced and range is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure tube universally serves as both the exhaust engine housing and the aircraft engine combustion chamber. This eliminates the need for separate combustion chamber tubes that would displace fuel storage space, thereby maximizing the fuel volume available and extending the missile's operational range.
Solution Approach 2:
By merging the exhaust engine containment function with the combustion chamber function into a single pressure tube structure, the design eliminates redundant volume consumption. The same space that would have been occupied by a separate combustion chamber tube is now available for fuel storage, directly increasing range capability.
4Reliability
If conventional engine construction with multiple components is used, then the engines can be housed, but the device complexity increases and manufacturing costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The design merges multiple components into a single integrated pressure tube structure that houses the exhaust engine and serves as the combustion chamber. This reduction in component count simplifies the overall device complexity while maintaining the necessary housing capabilities for reliable engine operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure tube is designed as a universal component that performs multiple functions: housing the exhaust engine, serving as the combustion chamber, and providing structural support. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated components for each function, thereby reducing device complexity and manufacturing costs.
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
This design reduces thermal detectability, minimizes mass, and increases fuel volume, enhancing range and reducing operational risks and costs by integrating the combustion chamber into the missile structure and carrying the ejection engine during flight.
Implementation Method 1
The propellant charge is ignited in the exhaust engine of the aircraft engine to initiate the starting phase of the aircraft engine
Implementation Method 2
an exhaust engine, also called starting engine, for starting and accelerating a missile
Implementation Method 3
the aircraft engine supplies the thrust for the flight of the device
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
Propulsion system (1) for a missile comprising at least one flight engine and one exhaust engine (15), the latter serving to generate thrust during the launch phase. The exhaust engine (15) remains connected to the flight engine (1) during flight.