Numerical Analysis and Modelling of a 100 N Hypergolic Liquid Bipropellant Thruster

This study focuses on the stepwise procedure involved in the development of a numerical model of a bi-propellant hypergolic chemical propulsion system using key features and performance characteristics of existing and planned (near future) propulsion systems. The study targets specific impulse of 100 N delivery performance of thrust chambers which is suitable for primary propulsion and attitude control for spacecraft. Results from numerical models are reported and validated with the Rocket Propulsion Analysis (RPA) computation concept. In the modelling process, there was proper consideration for the essential parts of the thruster engine such as the nozzle, combustion chamber, catalyst bed, injector, and cooling jacket. This propulsion system is designed to be fabricated in our next step in advancing this idea, using a combination of additive manufacturing technology and commercial off the shelf (COTS) parts along with non-toxic propellants. The two non-toxic propellants being considered are Hydrogen Peroxide as the oxidiser and Kerosene as the fuel, thus making it a low-cost, readily available and environmentally-friendly option for future microsatellite missions.

高压补燃液体火箭发动机推力室冷却技术及结构优化

The LM-5B launch vehicle has successfully completed four missions.Eight high-pressure staged combustion LOX/kerosene engines(YF-100)are equipped in the four boosters of the LM-5B,two in each booster.The YF-100 engine adopts various cooling techniques to ensure cooling,including a metal thermal barrier coating,multiple liquid film cooling slots,spiral milled regenerative cooling channels with high aspect ratio,a non-weld forming thrust chamber and an optimal cooling flow path design.In addition,the 480-ton LOX/kerosene engine for China’s future heavy-lift launch vehicle LM-9 will be larger in size,which makes it more difficult to be developed and will have more strict requirements in the cooling process.The main differences between the LM-5B and LM-5 are briefly described in this paper and the development process and working characteristics of YF-100 engines are introduced.The advantages and disadvantages of main cooling methods used in the thrust chambers of high-thrust liquid propellant engines are also described.Finally,the future challenges and countermeasures in cooling technology for China’s high-thrust LOX/kerosene engines and future reusable rocket engines are also presented.

氢氧火箭发动机助推器结构分析及寿命预测

After several trial runs,penetrating cracks appeared in the thrust chamber wall of a hydrogen-oxygen rocket engine,which will affect the service life and performance of the engine.It is necessary to reduce the wall heat flux by injection element mixture ratio biasing or propellant films to prolong the life of the liner wall.In this paper,the deformation of three types of inner walls was calculated under cyclic mechanical loading,and the stress-strain response and the fatigue life of the inner walls were compared.The results show that the bottom midpoint of the gas side channel,with the largest residual strain,is the most prone to failure.In addition,the adoption of injection element mixture ratio biasing or film cooling can greatly increase the life of the inner wall,and the improvement effect of the two measures is similar.

Damage localization effects of the regeneratively-cooled thrust chamber wall in LOX/methane rocket engines

To investigate the damage localization effects of the thrust chamber wall caused by combustions in LOX/methane rocket engines, a fluid-structural coupling computational methodology with a multi-channel model is developed to obtain 3-demensioanl thermal and structural responses.Heat and mechanical loads are calculated by a validated finite volume fluid-thermal coupling numerical method considering non-premixed combustion processes of propellants. The methodology is subsequently performed on an LOX/methane thrust chamber under cyclic operation. Results show that the heat loads of the thrust chamber wall are apparently non-uniform in the circumferential direction. There are noticeable disparities between different cooling channels in terms of temperature and strain distributions at the end of the hot run phase, which in turn leads to different temperature ranges, strain ranges, and residual strains during one cycle. With the work cycle proceeding, the circumferential localization effect of the residual strain would be significantly enhanced. A post-processing damage analysis reveals that the low-cycle fatigue damage accumulated in each cycle is almost unchanged, while the quasi static damage accumulated in a considered cycle declines until stabilized after several cycles. The maximum discrepancy of the predicted lives between different cooling channels is about 30%.

Thermal-structural analysis of regeneratively-cooled thrust chamber wall in reusable LOX/Methane rocket engines

To predict the thermal and structural responses of the thrust chamber wall under cyclic work,a 3-D fluid-structural coupling computational methodology is developed.The thermal and mechanical loads are determined by a validated 3-D finite volume fluid-thermal coupling computational method.With the specified loads,the nonlinear thermal-structural finite element analysis is applied to obtaining the 3-D thermal and structural responses.The Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening model calibrated by experimental data is adopted to predict the cyclic plastic behavior of the inner wall.The methodology is further applied to the thrust chamber of LOX/Methane rocket engines.The results show that both the maximum temperature at hot run phase and the maximum circumferential residual strain of the inner wall appear at the convergent part of the chamber.Structural analysis for multiple work cycles reveals that the failure of the inner wall may be controlled by the low-cycle fatigue when the Chaboche model parameter c3= 0,and the damage caused by the thermal-mechanical ratcheting of the inner wall cannot be ignored when c3〉 0.The results of sensitivity analysis indicate that mechanical loads have a strong influence on the strains in the inner wall.

Regenerative Cooling for Liquid Rocket Engines

Heat transfer in the thrust chamber is of great importance in the design of liquid propellant rocketengines. Regenerative cooling is an advanced method which can ensure not only the proper runningbut also higher performance of a rocket engine. The theoretical model is complicated, it relates to fluiddynamics, heat transfer, combustion, etc... In this papers a regenerative cooling model is presented.Effects such as radiation, heat transfer to environment, variable thermal properties and coking areincluded in the model. This model can be applied to all kinds of liquid propellant rocket engines aswell as similar constructions. The modularized computer code is completed in the work.