Questions tagged [engine-design]
Questions regarding the design or design process for a propulsion system.
440 questions
3votes
1answer
321views
Using rocket engines as vacuum pumps for high altitude hot fire testing
The test of the rocket's second-stage engine can be carried out using a small nozzle model. Or you can run such test in a dedicated vacuum facility, which can better reflect the performance of the ...
2votes
0answers
54views
Would a hybrid engine with fuel-side full-flow staged combustion and a gas generator for the oxidizer pump be feasible in a hydrolox engine?
Fuel-rich staged combustion offers excellent performance for hydrolox engines, but it introduces a serious engineering challenge: the seal between the fuel-rich preburner turbine and the LOX turbopump....
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2votes
2answers
201views
Is hydraulic servo the only option for gimbaled thrust on an engine using the RP-1, or does electric actuators have some unique advantages?
Hydraulic servo seems to be a perfect choice for gimbaled engine using RP-1: hydraulic pressure can be provided by a fuel pump,only two hydraulic valves are needed for control; the servo does not ...
8votes
1answer
793views
How does a truncated plug engine differ from an aerospike?
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_Nexus The NEXUS was a concept design created in the 1960s by a group at General Dynamics … It was intended as the next leap beyond the Saturn V, ...
- 33k
4votes
1answer
411views
How do the turbopumps in the RS-25 work?
I was looking at a diagram of the RS-25 rocket engine used in the SpaceShuttle program. You can see two high pressure turbopumps and a fuel and oxidizer pre-burner. I always thought that the ...
- 2,493
7votes
5answers
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Why doesn't SpaceX use solid rocket fuel?
I am curious to why SpaceX wouldn't use more efficient solid rocket boosters instead of the liquid booster they currently have for the first stage of their Starships. At first, I thought this was due ...
- 572
1vote
0answers
108views
How to determine the law of plotting?
In the book on the calculation of Dobrovolsky's rocket engines, there is a graph according to which Xa counts. But is there a dependency on which this graph was ...
3votes
0answers
57views
Why must LH2 be gassified before the throat in order to accommodate the high heat fluxes in regenerative cooled nozzles?
In NASA Space Vehicle Design Criteria Liquid Rocket Engine Fluid Cooled Combustion Chambers 2.1.1.2 number of passes (page 10) describes that some coolants must be heated before they become effective. ...
5votes
1answer
378views
How to account for the mass of solid propellant lost when measuring the thrust produced in Newtons?
I've had some confusion on how to calculate the mass-lost during the burning of solid-propellant $\require{mhchem} \ce{(C_{12} H_{22} O_{11} + KNO_3)}$ throughout the time interval of the burning. ...
- 63
3votes
1answer
306views
Combustion gas of gas generator right through nozzle?
I was reading page (13) of the book "Rocket, Owner's Workshop Manual" and I came across this diagram: Does the gas generator exhaust gas go directly to the combustion chamber in the engine ...
- 2,493
16votes
1answer
4kviews
Why Doesn't the cooling system on a rocket engine burn the fuel?
The cooling system on a specific rocket engine is usually a type of "pipe" that goes around the nozzle to not only keep the nozzle cool but also pre-heat the fuel. But the nozzle can reach ...
- 163
4votes
0answers
113views
How is the turbine in a rocket engine started?
I know that liquid rocket engines use a turbine to drive pumps that lead the Oxidizer and Fuel into the combustion chamber and that this turbine has a combustion chamber called the pre-burner. ...
- 2,493
6votes
2answers
720views
How does a closed-cycle rocket engine keep the chamber pressure from stalling the pump turbine?
I was thinking about how a closed-cycle rocket engine works, and I have a question about how the turbine can keep running. As I understand it, once the engine is up and running, the pressure in the ...
- 8,734
6votes
1answer
636views
How do closed cycle liquid engines actually work?
I've been researching Liquid Engines for quite a while now. I understand that there are two types of liquid engines, Closed cycle and Open cycle (Gas generator cycle). Open cycle engines simply let ...
- 2,493
1vote
0answers
200views
Which rocket engines used this exotic cycle?
A "Hypergolic, Full Flow, and Closed Catalyst" cycle Left side: All hydrazine goes through the centrifugal fuel pump All hydrazine goes through thermal decomposition Out of it comes hot ...
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