Spherical Rocket Engine Mounting for High-Thrust Gimbal Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional rocket engine mounting structures are complex, heavy, and bulky due to the use of ball bearings, which are designed to withstand high thrust forces, leading to increased size and weight, and require multiple ball bearings for each axis of rotation.
Innovation Solution
A mounting assembly utilizing a spherical bearing base, spherical retaining ring, and suspension link with a spherical end, allowing for two degrees of freedom movement without the need for ball bearings, reducing complexity and weight while enhancing force transfer through areal contact, and optionally incorporating polytetrafluoroethylene coatings and ball cages for improved friction reduction and force distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional ball bearings are used in Cardan suspension for rocket engine mounting, then the structure can withstand high thrust forces, but the mounting structure becomes complex, heavy, and bulky
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the ball bearings from the Cardan suspension system, replacing them with a spherical interface between the suspension link and the rocket engine mounting structure. This removes the complexity of multiple ball bearings while maintaining the essential gimbal functionality through the spherical contact interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces spherical geometry at the interface between the suspension link and the rocket engine mounting structure. The spherical contact surface allows for two-degree-of-freedom rotation while distributing thrust forces across an area rather than through discrete ball elements, simplifying the overall structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple ball bearings are used for each axis of rotation in Cardan suspension, then the rocket engine can pivot for thrust control, but the mounting structure weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of multiple ball bearings into a single spherical interface. The spherical contact between the suspension link and the mounting structure provides both rotational freedom and thrust load bearing in a unified element, eliminating the need for separate ball bearing assemblies.
Solution Approach 2:
The spherical geometry enables the suspension link to rotate freely in two directions (gimbal action) while the distributed contact area of the spherical interface efficiently transfers thrust forces, reducing the weight compared to discrete ball bearing assemblies.
3Force
If ball bearings are designed to withstand high thrust forces, then the mounting structure can handle rocket engine loads, but the size and bulk of the mounting structure increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical contact interface distributes the high thrust forces across a curved surface area, allowing the mounting structure to handle rocket engine loads without requiring large, bulky ball bearing assemblies. The spherical geometry naturally distributes stress while maintaining compact dimensions.
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 solution simplifies the mounting structure, reduces weight and size, and enables greater force transfer efficiency compared to conventional systems, while maintaining the structural integrity to withstand high thrust forces, and allows for a more compact design by integrating spherical components into existing rocket engine and fuel tank shapes.
Implementation Method 1
due to the areal contact between spherical bearing base, spherical retaining ring and spherical end of the suspension link, the thrust generated by the rocket engine can be transferred better into the primary structure of the rocket
Implementation Method 2
optionally incorporating polytetrafluoroethylene coatings and ball cages for improved friction reduction and force distribution
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a mounting assembly with a spherical bearing for mounting a rocket engine and a rocket having such mounting assembly. The spherical bearing includes a spherical bearing base, a spherical retaining ring and a suspension link with a spherical end arranged in a space between the spherical bearing base and the spherical retaining ring. The spherical bearing base is part of an injector head of the rocket engine or is part of a fuel tank, the parts having a spherical shape.