Specification
ROCKET ENGINE, ROCKET AND
START METHOD OF ROCKET ENGINE
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a rocket
engine, especially, to a liquid rocket engine using
hydrocarbon as fuel.
Background Art
[000/]
A Liquid rocket engine using hydrocarbon as
propellant is known. The liquid rocket engine has a
turbo pump for supplying the propellant (oxidizer and
hydrocarbon). The turbo pump is driven with the
rotation of a turbine. The turbine is rotated with a
combustion gas which is generated by an auxiliary
combustor called a gas generator (sub combustor) which
uses hydrocarbon as fuel, and LOX (Liquid Oxyqen) as
ox:idLo:er. For example, Non-Patent Literature 1.
discloses the liquid rocket engine to which such a gas
qenerator cycle is applied.
[0003]
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showinq Lhe
configurations of the liquid rocket engines described
in Non-Patent Literature 1. In FIG. 1, a diagram in
the upper Jeft portion shows the liquid rocket enqinc
to which a gas generator cycle is applied. In th~s
rocket engine, a fuel pump and an oxidizer pump arc
used as turbo pumps. The fuel pump is driven by a
f u e J L u r b i n e , and the ox i d i z e r p urn p i s d r i v en by an
oxidizer the turbine. Thus, the fuel turbine and the
oxidizer turbine are driven by the combustion gas
generated in the gas generator.
[00011
When such a gas generator cycle is applied to
-~x -
the liquid cocket engine, there are the following
problems. The first problem is in that an additional
combustor becomes necessary. Because the additional
combustor becomes necessary, there is a fear that the
reliability decreases and a cost becomes high. The
second problem is in that the combustion gas used to
drive the turbines is exhausted just as it is.
Because the energy of the combustion gas used to drive
the turbines is not effectively utilized, an energy
loss is big. The third problem is in that a very high
reliability is required for the gas generator. Though
the operation environment is severe because the gas
generator is used for the combustion, a trouble of the
gas generator is fatal to the rocket engine. When the
gas generator breaks down, the liquid rocket eng~ne
loses a turbine driving force immediately so that it
becomes difficult to supply the fuel and the oxidizer.
In this way, the system of the rocket engine is not
robust.
An upper right portion of FIG. 1 shows a
rocket engine using a staged combustion cycle. In
this rocket engine, a precombustor is provided in
front of the combustor, and a precombustion gas of the
precombustor drives the fuel turbine and the oxidizer
turbine and is supplied to the combustor. In this
case, because the precombustion gas after driving the
turbines ls further used for the combustion, the above
second problem does not occur. However, because the
precombustor as an auxiliary combustor is used, tho
first and third problems remain. Also, a lower
portion of l·'IG. 1 shows the rocket engine using an
expander cycle which uses vaporization and expansion
of the liquid-hydrogen. It is difficult to apply this
rocket engine to the rocket engine using hydrocarbon
as the-; fuel.
Citation List
[Non-PatcnL Ijitcrature]
[0006]
[Non-Patent Literature 1] George P. Sutton, Oscar
Biblarz, "Pocket Propulsion Elements", Seventh
Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., p. 223 (Figures 6 -
9), (;700}).
Summary of the Invention
[ 0 0 0 7 l
'L'hcrE;fore, an object of the present invention
is to provide a rocket engine which has a high
reliability and few energy losses and which uses a
hydrocarbon fuel. Also, another object of the present
invention is to provide a robust rocket engine using a
hydrocarbon fuel. Also, still another object of the
present invention is to provide a rocket engine in
which the mixing of fuel and oxidizer is promoted, in
which the combustion efficiency is improved and the
exhaust of gas is made unnecessary, and which uses the
hydrocarbon fuel.
I o o o tl I
Thes<::"~ objects of the present invention, and
objects and advantages except for them can be easi1y
confirmed by the following description and the
attached drawings.
[00091
A rocket engine of the present invention is
provided with a fuel passage of pipes, a catalyst
section, a turbine, a first pump, a combustion chamber
and a nozzle. A hydrocarbon fuel flows through the
fuel passage of pipes. The catalyst section is
provided on the way of the fuel passage of pipes to
gasify the fuel. The turbine is provided on the way
of the fue1 passage of pipes and is driven with the
gasitLed fuel. The first pump supplies the fuel to
the fuel passage through the drive by the turbine.
The combustion chamber combusts the gasified fuel
supplied from the fuel passage of pipes and the
oxidizer. The nozzle sends out the combustion gas
from the combustion chamber, and carries out heat
exchange with a part of the fuel passage of pipes for
the nozzle to be cooled.
[ 0 0 1 0 l
In the above-mentioned rocket engine, the
fuel passage of pipes may have a first path and a
second path. The first path leads the fuel to the
combustion chamber after the heat exchange with the
nozzle and gasification of the fuel in the catalyst
section. The second path leads the fuel to the
combustion chamber just as it is. The combustion
chambec may combust the mixed fuel of the gasified
fuel supplied through the first path and the fuel
supplied through the second path.
[00111
In the above-mentioned rocket engine, the
catalyst section may be provided inside the fuel
passaqc of pipes at a location where the heat exchange
with the nozzle is carried out on the way of the fuel
passage of pipes.
[001~]
rn the above-mentioned rocket engine, the
catalyst section carries out thermochemical
decomposition of the fuel to gasify the fuel. The
endothermic reaction of the thermochemical
decomposition may cool the nozzle.
[ 0 0 l 3 1
ln the above-mentioned rocket engine, the
catalyst section may be formed in a layer to cover the
inner wal 1 of the fuel passage of pipes.
[0014]
rn the above-mentioned rocket engine, the
catalyst section may be provided on a rear side of a
location which is on the way of the fuel passage of
pipes and in which the heat exchange with the nozzle
is carried out.
In the above-mentioned rocket engine, the
catalyst section may be formed from a plurality of
catalyst grains in a container.
[0016]
The above-mentioned rocket engine may furLher
include an oxidizer passage of pipes and a second
pump. The ox_idizer flows to the combustion chamber
through Lhe oxidizer passage of pipes. The second
pump supplies the oxidizer to the oxidizer passage of
pipes through the drive by the turbine. The turbine,
the first pump and the second pump are connected with
the same rotation axis.
[00171
A rocket of the present invention is provided
with the rocket engine, a fuel tank and an oxidizer
Lank. The rocket engine is described in the above.
The fuel tank is connected with the fuel passage of
the rocket engine. The oxidizer tank is connected
with the oxidizer passage of the rocket engine.
[OOUll
A sLart method of a rocket engine according
lo the present invention includes supplying a
hydrocarbon fuel and an oxidizer to a combustion
chamber by using a pressure to combust there.
Moreover, when the combustion chamber is heated
through the combustion, the method includes supplying
the fueJ to Lhc catalyst section by using the pressure
while cooling a nozzle by heat exchange, to gasify the
fuc L.
[0019]
Moreover, the method includes driving Lhc
I
-ftturbine:
wi Lh the qas_ified fuel. Moreover, the method
includes driving the first pump by the turbine to
gasify a part: of the fuel in a catalyst section while
cooling the nozzle through the heat exchange.
Moreover, the method includes driving the first pump
by the turbine to supply a remaining part of the fuel
to the combustion chamber. Moreover, the method
includes driving a second pump by the turbine to
supply the oxidizer to the combustion chamber.
Moreover, the method includes combusting the gasified
fuc l, Lhe supplied fuel and the supplied oxidizer in
the combustion chamber.
[00/.0l
According to the present invention, in the
rocket: engine using the hydrocarbon fuel, the
rc;l iabi l i t:y can be made higher, and the energy loss
can be made few. Also, in the rocket engine using the
hydrocarbon fuel, the robust property can be improved.
Also, in the rocket engine using the hydrocarbon fuel,
the mixing of the fuel and the oxidizer is promoted,
so that the exhaust of gas is eliminated and the
combustion cffLciency can be improved.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[00/.1]
FTC. 1 is a diagram schematically showing Lhc
configuration of a liquid rocket engine disclosed in
Non-Patent 1, L Lerature 1.
I<'TC. / is a diagram schematically showing Lhc
configuration of a rocket engine according Lo a f rsL
embodiment and a rocket to which the same is appJ i cd.
FlG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an
example of a catalyst section of the rocket engine
according to Lhe first embodiment.
FiG. 1 is a flow chart showing a start
operation of the rocket engine according to the r rsL
embodLmcnt.
s-
y-
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing lhe
configuration of the rocket engine according to a
second embodiment and the rocket to which the same is
appLied.
Description of Embodiments
[0022]
l!c~reinafter, a rocket engine according to
embodiments of the present invention and a rocket to
which the rocket engine is applied will be described
with reference to the attached drawings.
[0023]
[First Embodiment]
The configurations of the rocket engine
according to a first embodiment and the rocket applied
with the same will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram
schematically showing the configurations of the rocket
engine according to the present embodiment and the
rockc~t appJ Led with the same. The rocket 1 flies by
combusting the fuel of hydrocarbon by using the
ox i d i zc r and by spouting out the combustion gas. The
rocket 1 is provided with a rocket main unit 2 and a
rocket cnqinc 3.
[00/1\]
The rocket main unit 2 has a fuel tank 1\, an
oxidizer tank 5 and a control unit 6. The fuel tank fl,
stores a Jiquid hydrocarbon fuel. The fuel tank 1sends out the fuel to the rocket engine 3 by means of
qas pressurization and so on, based on the control of
the conLro] unit 6. The oxidizer tank 5 stores a
liquid oxidizer (e.g. LOX) The oxidizer tank 5 sends
out an oxidizer to the rocket engine 3 by means of the
gas prc;ssurJzation and so on, based on the control 0 f
the control unit 6. The control unit 6 is an
information processing apparatus such as a computer
which has a pr-ocessor (e.g. CPU), a storage unit (e.g.
RAM and ROM), and an interface, which are not
illustrated. The control unit 6 may further have an
input unit (e.g. a keyboard) and an output unit (e.g.
a display). The control unit 6 controls the fuel tank
4, the oxidizer tank 5 and the rocket engine 3 at
least through the interface.
[0025]
The rocket engine 3 is supplied with the
liquid hydrocarbon fuel from the fuel tank 4 and with
the oxidizer from the oxidizer tank 5, and combusts
the fuel with the oxidizer to generate and spout out a
combustjon gas. The rocket engine 3 includes a fuel
passage of pipes 31 to 39, a catalyst section 51, a
turbine 12, a first pump 11, a second pump 13, a
combustion chamber 21, a nozzle 22, an oxidiz<:;r
passage of pipes 41 to 43, a valve V1, a valve V2 and
a r-otation axis 14.
[ 0 0 2 6]
The fuel passage of pipes 31 to 39 is a
passage through which the hydrocarbon fuel flows. 'l'hc
catalyst sectLon 51 is provided on the way of the fuel
passage or pipes 31 to 39 to gasify the fuel. 'rhe
turbine 12 is provided on the way of the fuel passage
of pipes 31 to 39 and is driven with the gasified
fuel. The first pump 11 is driven by the turbine 12
to supply the fuel to the fuel passage of pipes 31 to
39. 'rhe second pump 13 is driven by the turbine 12 to
supply the oxidizer to the oxidizer passage of pipes
41 to 43. The first pump 11 and the second pump 13
ar
-~-
manufacture is provided as the catalyst section, Lhe
increase of pressure loss can be suppressed.
Moreover, Lhe operation temperature becomes low in Lhe
catalyst section ~2 compared with the combustion
c h a mb e r i n w h i c h a p r o p e ll an t i_ s c o mb u s t e d , s o t h a t
Lhe operation environment is eased. Thus, the
phenomenon such as a caulking can be further
prc;venLed.
is noL
rL could be seen that the present invention
tmiLed La each of the above embodiments and
LhaL each embodiment can be appropriately modified or
chanqed in a ranqe of the gist of the present
invention.
[OOS!\]
The present invention is based on Japan
Patent J\ppl ication No. JP 2013-030410 and clams a
priority of it. The disclosure thereof is
incorporated herein by reference.
CLAIMS
1. A rocket engine comprising:
a fuel passage through which a hydrocarbon
fuel fLows;
a catalyst section provided on a way of the
fuel passage to gasify the fuel;
a turbine provided on the way of the fuel
passage and driven with the gasified fuel;
a first pump configured to supply the fuel to
the fuel passage through a drive by the turbine;
a combustion chamber configured to combust
the gasified fuel supplied through the fuel passage by
using an oxLdizer; and
a nozzle configured to send out the
combustion gas and carry out heat exchange with a part
of the fuel passage to be cooled.
/. The~ rocket engine according to claim 1,
wherein the fuel passage comprises:
a first path configured to lead the fuel to
the combustion chamber after the heat exchange and the
qasification of the fuel in the catalyst section; and
a second path configured to lead the fuel to
the combustion chamber just as it is,
wherein the combustion chamber combusts a
mixture of the gasified fuel supplied through the
first path and the fuel supplied through the second
path.
3. The rocket engine according to claim 1 or /,
wherein the catalyst section is provided inside the
fuel passaqe in a location where the heat exchange ts
carried out.
ll .
·rr1c rocket enq· i. ne a ceo rd.ing to c l c1 _t m 3,
wherein Lhe catalyst section gasifies the fuel through
a thcrmochcmLcal decomposition with catalyst, and
cools the nozzle with endothermic reaction of the
thermochemical decomposition.
5.
The rocket engine according to claim 3 or t1,,
wherein the catalyst section is formed in a layer to
cover an inner wall of the fuel passage.
6.
The rocket engine according to claim 1 or 2,
wherein the catalyst section is provided in a location
where is on a way of the fuel passage and where is
rear a heat exchange position with the nozzle.
"/.
The rocket engine according to claim 6,
wherein the catalyst section comprises a plurality of
catalyst grains in a container.
8 .
The rocket engine according to any one of
cLaims 1 to '/, further comprises:
an oxidizer passage configured to supply an
oxidLzer to the combustion chamber; and
a second pump configured to supply the
oxidizer to the oxidizer passage through a drive by
thE; Lut"bine,
whet"ein the turbine, the first pump and the
second pump are connected with the same rotation axis.
9. A rocket comprising:
the rocket engine according to any one of
claims 1 to 8;
a fuel tank connected with the fuel passage
of the rocket engine; and
an oxidizer tank connected with the oxidizer
passage of the rocket engine.
10. A start method of a rocket engine,
comprisinq:
supplying a hydrocarbon fuel and an oxidizer
to a combustion chamber using a pressure to combust
therein;
supplying, when the combustion chamber is
heated through the combustion, the fuel to a catalyst
section by uslng the pressure to gasify the fuel,
while cooling the nozzle through heat exchange;
driving a turbine with the gasified fuel;
driving a first pump by the turbine to gasify
a part of the fuel in the catalyst section while
cool i nq the nozzle by the heat exchange;
drivinq the first pump by the turbine to
supply a remaining portion of the fuel to the
combustion chamber;
driving a second pump by the turbine to
supply the oxLdizer to the combustion chamber; and
combusting the gasified fuel, the supplied
fuel and the supplied oxidizer in the combustion
chambc r.