Rocket Engine Combustion Chamber Liner with Integrated Coolant Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing combustion chamber structures for rocket engines face challenges in balancing temperature resistance, mechanical resilience, and manufacturing costs, particularly due to the need for thick, weldable jackets with complex geometries and high galvanizing costs.
Innovation Solution
A combustion chamber structure featuring a thermoconductive liner with coolant channels on its outer surface and a coolant chamber formed at its longitudinal end, which integrates coolant distribution and collection, eliminating the need for separate manifolds and reducing the thickness and cost of the jacket by redirecting forces directly through the liner.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the jacket is made continuously thick to bear mechanical loads and provide manifold interface geometry, then mechanical strength and reliability are improved, but manufacturing cost and bath time during galvanizing increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The jacket is divided into two distinct parts: a base layer that provides the necessary mechanical strength and a separate manifold component that provides the interface geometry for coolant distribution. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized independently - the base layer can be thinner since it only needs to bear loads, while the manifold is a separate component that can be attached afterwards, eliminating the need for a continuously thick jacket with complex integrated geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the base layer and manifold into a functional assembly where the manifold is attached to the base layer. This combining allows the thin base layer to achieve the mechanical strength needed while the attached manifold provides the complex interface geometry, avoiding the need for a single thick component that would require extensive galvanizing.
2Ease of manufacture
If the jacket is made of weldable material to enable manifold attachment, then ease of assembly is improved, but the material strength is reduced, requiring increased thickness
Solution Approach 1:
The jacket system is segmented into a high-strength base layer and a separate manifold component. The base layer can be made from high-strength materials optimized for mechanical loading, while the manifold is a separate piece that can be manufactured from materials suitable for welding or other attachment methods. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by allowing each component to be made from the most appropriate material for its specific function.
3Ease of operation
If separate manifolds are welded to the jacket, then coolant distribution function is achieved, but device complexity and number of weld seams increase
Solution Approach 1:
The base layer and manifold are merged into an integrated assembly where the manifold is attached to the base layer. This integration simplifies the overall structure by reducing the number of separate components and weld seams compared to traditional designs where manifolds are separately welded to a thick jacket. The merged design maintains the coolant distribution function while reducing structural complexity.
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 enhances stability and reduces manufacturing costs by eliminating the need for complex weld seams and interface geometries, allowing for a thinner, lighter jacket while maintaining high temperature resistance and mechanical resilience.
Implementation Method 1
a highly thermoconductive inner jacket ('liner') for this purpose that has a plurality of coolant channels on its outer side
Implementation Method 2
The jacket is typically made of nickel and applied galvanically
Data Source
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AI summary
The disclosure relates to a combustion chamber structure (10), particularly for a rocket engine, which comprises a liner (12) surrounding a combustion chamber (14) with an outer surface (32) facing away from the combustion chamber (14) on which coolant channels (38) extending in a longitudinal direction of the liner (12) are formed. The liner (12) forms, at one longitudinal end, a coolant chamber (16, 17) extending in the circumferential direction of the liner (12) for collecting and/or distributing a coolant. The combustion chamber structure (10) further comprises a connecting structure (40, 41) that fluidly connects the coolant chamber (16, 17) to the coolant channels (38).