Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a test fixture designed to measure and test the forces of a reaction engine, more specifically focusing on a measurement of the side forces produced by the reaction engine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A reaction engine is a propulsion engine or motor that generates motion by expelling mass in order to produce thrust. The reaction engine is also known as a rocket motor that are used to propel an aerial vehicle. Some of the reaction engines have thrust vectoring control (TVC) that enables changing a direction in which the expelling mass is directed, which causes the reaction engine to maneuver. A typical TVC includes a set of fins that directs the expelling mass at an angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the reaction engine.

The reaction engines are tested to determine their performance, such as amount of thrust generated, time of operation of the reaction engines, among other examples before their deployment. Generally, the reaction engines are tested using a test fixture that enables testing the performance of the reaction engine. Some of the test rigs are also capable of testing maneuvering of canard based aerial vehicle with the reaction engine. However, performance of the reaction engine with the TVC cannot be tested owing to the inability of conventional text fixture to test the performance of the TVC.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

The present disclosure aims to provide a solution for measuring and testing of the side forces produced by a reaction engine with the help of a thrust vectoring control (TVC) test fixture.

In one embodiment, a Test fixture further discussed has four components: a base, a holding assembly, a thrust load cell, and a ring assembly. The base has been designed to house the entire test fixture. The holding assembly is mounted on the base and is adapted to receive a front end of the reaction engine. Further, the thrust load cell is mounted on the holding assembly and is incorporated at the front end to measure the axial forces generated by the reaction engine during the testing. The thrust load cell also includes a load shaft which adapted to connect with the front end of the reaction engine. The ring assembly is mounted on the base and is adapted to receive the rear end of the reaction engine.

In one embodiment, the holding assembly comprises of an L-section bracket which is mounted on the base, a torque shaft housing a torque sensor used for sensing torque generated by the reaction engine during testing and has a capacity of 225 Newton Meters, a universal joint designed to hold the torque shaft at the first end and the thrust load cell of a capacity of 500 kilo newtons at the second end and is used to support the pivoting of reaction engine and transmit the torque to the torque sensor.

The ring assembly is a ring unit installed at the rear end of the reaction engine and mounted on the base. The ring assembly comprises of a plurality of lateral load cells placed radially at 120 degrees from each other on the inner peripheral of the ring unit in order to measure the lateral forces caused by thrust vectoring by the reaction engine during testing.

To further clarify advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a Test fixture, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates a side view of the Test fixture, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 illustrates a back view of the Test fixture taken along lines 1-1 in Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the Test fixture, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figure 5 illustrates a front view of the Test fixture, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

For example, the term “some” as used herein may be understood as “none” or “one” or “more than one” or “all.” Therefore, the terms “none,” “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would fall under the definition of “some.” It should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching, and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and therefore, should not be construed to limit, restrict or reduce the spirit and scope of the present disclosure in any way.

For example, any terms used herein such as, “includes,” “comprises,” “has,” “consists,” and similar grammatical variants do not specify an exact limitation or restriction, and certainly do not exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated. Further, such terms must not be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated, for example, by using the limiting language including, but not limited to, “must comprise” or “needs to include.”

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, it may still be referred to as “one or more features” or “one or more elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “one or more” or “at least one” feature or element do not preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language including, but not limited to, “there needs to be one or more…” or “one or more elements is required.”

Unless otherwise defined, all terms and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person ordinarily skilled in the art.

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements of the present disclosure. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of explaining one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the proposed disclosure fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility, and non-obviousness.

Use of the phrases and/or terms including, but not limited to, “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “additional embodiment” or other variants thereof do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or in the context of more than one embodiment, or in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.

Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should not necessarily be taken as limiting factors to the proposed disclosure.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

For the sake of clarity, the first digit of a reference numeral of each component of the present disclosure is indicative of the Figure number, in which the corresponding component is shown. For example, reference numerals starting with digit “1” are shown at least in Figure 1. Similarly, reference numerals starting with digit “2” are shown at least in Figure 2.

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a test fixture 100 for testing a reaction engine 122, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The reaction engine 122 is any engine or motor that operates by expelling reaction mass, in order to produce thrust with the goal of moving forward. The reaction engine 122, in one example, may have a thrust vectoring control (TVC) 134 which enables change in the direction of the expulsion of the expelling mass. The reaction engine 122, comprises of, but is not limited, to a combustion chamber, a nozzle and thrust vector controlling flaps. The reaction engine 122 discussed herein, is the specimen being tested on.
The test fixture 100 is designed to test the performance of the reaction engine 122. In one example, the test fixture 100 may test various parameters of the reaction engine 122, such as magnitude of axial thrust and lateral thrust, rotation during the TVC. All such parameters may then be compared with preset parameters to access the performance of the reaction engine 122. Therefore, the test fixture 100 is capable of testing various parameters of the reaction engine 122.

The test fixture 100 includes, but is not limited to, a base 102, a holding assembly 104, a thrust load cell 106, and a ring assembly 108.The test fixture 100, further includes sub-assemblies which have been discussed below in detail. For instance, the holding assembly 104 includes components, but is not limited to, an L-section bracket 110, a torque sensor 112, a torque shaft 114, a universal joint 116, a universal joint shaft 118, and a load cell shaft (not shown). Moreover, the ring assembly 108 includes, a plurality of lateral load cells 126, a plurality of load cell probes 136, a plurality of fasteners 128 and a ring unit 124. Further, the test fixture 100 includes a propulsion support 120 and a specimen reaction engine 122.

In an embodiment, the base 102 of the test fixture 100 is a platform and is built from a solid metal block of rectangular shape wherein the edges have been sliced to form a non-equilateral octagon. The base 102 encompasses a plurality of holes 130, precisely 10 indicating 5 on each side to hold the base 102 in place with respect to the ground while testing. The base 102 has been designed to adapt to mounting the L-section bracket 110, the lower half 120A of the propulsion support 120 and an upper half 124B of the ring unit 124 by the use of the plurality of fasteners 128.

Figure 2 illustrates the side view of the test fixture 100 whereas Figure 3 illustrates the back view of the test fixture 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The holding assembly 104 will now be explained in reference to both the figure 2 and figure 3.

The holding assembly 104 is a second largest component of the test fixture 100 and is adapted to receive and hold a front end 132A of the reaction engine 122. The holding assembly 104 includes, but is not limited to, the L-section bracket 110, which provides support to the entire test fixture 100 while firing. In one example, the L-section bracket 110 is supposed to be constructed of a metal block 302. The metal block 302 is incorporated in the L-section bracket 110 and is designed to be standing upright by the support of a plurality of triangular support 304. The entire setup of the L-section bracket 110 is fixated on the base 102, by the use of the plurality of fasteners 128.

Further, the holding assembly 104 includes the torque sensor 112, which is a flange type reaction torque sensor 112. The torque sensor 112 senses the torque induced during the testing of the reaction engine 122. The torque is measured to assess any rotation induced during the operation of the TVC 134. The torque sensor 112 has a maximum capacity of measuring torque up to 225 Nm and is mounted on the L-section bracket 110 and is used for measuring the rolling moment. The torque sensor 112 is attached to the L-section bracket 110 using hexagonal fasteners. The torque shaft 114 is attached to the torque sensor 112 and is adapted to bridge the attachment between the torque sensor 112 and the universal joint 116.

Moreover, the universal joint 116 is assembled on the other side of the torque sensor 112 and torque shaft 114 and is adapted to transmit motion from the reaction engine 122 to the torque sensor 114. In addition, the universal joint 116 enables the inclining motion of the reaction engine 122 to measure the lateral forces, when the TVC 134 are working during the testing. The universal joint 116 has a universal joint shaft 118 which further connects the universal joint 116 to the thrust load cell 106.

The thrust load cell 106 is mounted to a right-side flange of the universal joint 116 and the universal joint shaft 118. The thrust load cell 106 is designed as a low profile cylindrical shaped load cell having the capacity of 20 KN. The thrust load cell 106 has been designed with taping hole at the center as a sensing probe and hence the reaction engine 122 is fabricated at the thrust load cell 106 sensing probe by the use of a load cell shaft 202 Further the thrust load cell 106 has been delineated to measure the axial thrust forces.

Figure 4 illustrates the cross-sectional view of the test fixture 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The test fixture 100 includes the propulsion support 120 which is adapted to receive the front end of the reaction engine 122. The propulsion support 120 is a detachable circular ring support wherein a lower half 120A of the propulsion support 120 has been mounted on the base 102 with the help of the plurality of fasteners 128. A top half 120B of the propulsion support 120 is mounted on top of the lower half 120A of the propulsion support 120 by the use of the plurality of fasteners 128. The propulsion support 120 has been designed in a circular ring so as to fit the reaction engine 122 with a gap of 5mm so as to allow safe pivoting of the reaction engine 122, but also limit the pivoting and avoiding any further damage in case the pivoting exceeds a predetermined value.

Figure 5 illustrates the front view of the TVC test fixture 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The ring assembly 108 comprises of, but is not limited to, the ring unit 124, with radially places lateral load cells 126, the plurality of lateral load cell probes 136 and the plurality of fasteners 128. The ring unit 124 is a hexagonal shaped ring with 2 detachable parts. A lower half 124A of the ring unit 124 is mounted on the base 102 by the use of the plurality of fasteners 128. Wherein, at least one of the plurality of lateral load cells 126 is fixated on each of the side bars of the lower half 124A of the ring unit 124. The upper half 124B of the ring unit 124 is mounted on top of the lower half 124A of the ring unit 124 with the help of the plurality of fasteners 128. In one example, at least one of the plurality of lateral load cells 126 is fixated on a top bar of the upper half 124B of the ring unit 124.

The lateral load cells 126 are located at an inclination of 120 degrees from each other and have a capacity of 500 N each. The lateral load cells 126 and the ring unit 124 have been assembled together using the plurality of fasteners 128 which are adjustable. The lateral load cells 126 are capable of measuring the lateral forces produced by the reaction engine 122 during the firing. The lateral load cells 126 are adapted to receive the lateral load cell probe 136. In one example, the lateral load cell probe 136 is threaded to each of the lateral load cells 126 and may act as a bridge between the lateral load cell 126 and the outer surface of the rear end 132B of the reaction engine 122. The lateral load cell probe 136 is adapted to transmit the lateral forces produced by the reaction engine 122 to the lateral load cell 136. The lateral load cell 136 has a tip that makes a point contact with the rear end 132B, such that the reception of lateral force occurs from the point contact.

In an embodiment, wherein while testing, the reaction engine 122 produces lateral forces. The lateral forces produced tend to pivot the reaction engine 122 in a particular direction. Under such circumstances at least one of the plurality of lateral load cells 126 gets compressed and uses sensors to analyze the axial forces thus produced.

The test fixture 100 of the present disclosure has various advantages. For instance, the test fixture 100 not only measure axial forces but also measure the laterally induced forces of the TVC reaction engine. In addition, the test fixture 100 can be used to test both a TVC reaction engine and a Non-TVC reaction engine. As a result, the test fixture 100 is a cost-efficient process as separate apparatus/fixture will not be required to test different types of reaction engine.

While specific language has been used to describe the present disclosure, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment.
, Claims:1. A test fixture (100) for testing the performance of a reaction engine (122) with thrust vector control (134), comprising:
a base (102);
a holding assembly (104) mounted on the base and adapted to receive a front end of the reaction engine (122);
a thrust load cell (106) mounted on the holding assembly (104) and coupled to the front end to measure an axial force generated by the reaction engine (122) during testing; and
a ring assembly (108) mounted on the base (102) and adapted to receive a rear end of the reaction engine (122), wherein the ring assembly (108) comprises:
a ring unit (124) installed on the base (102); and
a plurality of lateral load cells (126) installed equidistantly on an inner peripheral of the ring unit (124), wherein each of the plurality of lateral load cells (126) is adapted to measure a lateral force generated by the reaction engine(122) during the testing.

2. The test fixture (100), as claimed in claim 1, wherein the holding assembly (104) comprising:
an L-section bracket (110) is mounted on the base (102);
a torque shaft (114) having a torque sensor (112) adapted to sense torque generated during the testing.
a universal joint (116) having a first end attached to the torque shaft (114) and a second end attached to the thrust load cell (106) to:
support the pivoting of the reaction engine (122); and
transmit torque to the torque sensor (112).

3. The test fixture (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a support (120) mounted on the base (102) and adapted to wrap around the front end of the reaction engine (122) to limit pivoting of the reaction engine (122) during thrust vectoring control.

4. The test fixture (100) as claimed in claim 1, the plurality of lateral load cells (126) is placed radially at 120 degrees from each other.

5. The test fixture (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of load cells (126) is spaced radially equidistant and adapted to receive and measure lateral forces caused by thrust vectoring.

6. The test fixture (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thrust load cell (106) includes a load shaft (202) adapted to couple to the front end of the reaction engine (122).

7. The test fixture (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ring unit (124) comprising a lower half (124A) ring attached to the base (102) and an upper half (124B) ring detachably attached to the lower half (124A) ring.

8. The test fixture (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the torque sensor (112) has a capacity of 225 Newton Meters.

9. The test fixture (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thrust load cell (106) has a capacity of 20 Kilo-Newtons.

10. The test fixture (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the lateral load cell (126) has a capacity of 500 Newtons.