Existing Concepts and Review of Experimental Studies of a Laser Rocket Engine

Author(s):  
B.P. Ziganshin ◽  
A.V. Sochnev

Currently, there is a problem of making engines for the exploration of near space, and one of the solutions to this problem is the use of a laser rocket engine. This type of engine has a number of advantages and, as calculations have shown, it is economically profitable during active operation, which is very important for space systems. The principle of operation of a laser rocket engine allows it to be used not only as a power plant and a system for launching spacecraft, but also as a system for the destruction of space debris, the problem of which is becoming more and more urgent every day. The paper shows the results of a review of domestic and foreign works on the history of creation and the concept of application of currently existing samples of laser rocket engines, on experimental data obtained by measuring the specific impulse and thrust, measurement methods, and describes the principle of operation and basic physical processes occurring in laser rocket engines

1961 ◽  
Vol 65 (605) ◽  
pp. 321-331
Author(s):  
S. K. Hoffman

SummaryThe history of Rocketdyne's activity in the field of large liquid-propellant rocket engines is outlined in a chronological review of applicable United States ballistic and space projects. Within security limitations, major rocket engine component improvements and general fabrication techniques are discussed. The trends and new developments in liquid-propellant rocket engine designs are presented and a forecast of future engines is made.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-241
Author(s):  
Nicolae-Florin ZAGANESCU ◽  
Constantin-Marcian GHEORGHE ◽  
Peter KALMUTCHI

The paper presents certain points of view regarding the history of Romanian rocket engines, during 1940-1944. Working independently of other scientists, during 1942 – 1944 the Romanian Nicolae Văideanu has invented and designed, independently of other researchers, a liquid fuel missile called UDOVILUL-V [3]. According to the design drawings, this missile was equipped with aerodynamically profiled propelling nozzles and was provided with a special alternator – distributor, the bypass valve adjusting the fuel components dosage in the two combustion chambers, in fuel tanks and pipes, while a special designed gas turbine was driving the centrifugal pumps and other mechanical equipment. Within his main patent the Romanian inventor has included the design of several components [2], [4], [5]. The technical solution of this outstanding design in rocketry development could provide 20kN thrust after 60 sec, enabling a speed of 3200 km/h [10].


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 66-77
Author(s):  
Igor Vasiliev ◽  
◽  
Boris Kiforenko ◽  
Yaroslav Tkachenko ◽  
◽  
...  

Carrying out low-thrust transfers of spacecrafts in the near-earth space from intermediate elliptic to the geostationary orbit using electric rocket engines seems to be one of the most important tasks of modern cosmonautics. Electric rocket engines, whose specific impulse of the reactive jet is an order of magnitude more than in chemical RD, are preferable for interorbit flights with a maximum payload in the case when a significant increase in the duration of the maneuver is permissible. Ability to throttling the rocket engine thrust is traditionally considered as one of the ways to reduce both the engine mass and the required fuel assumptions for performing the specified maneuver. Using the concept of an ideal-rocket engine provides the upper estimates of the payload mass of interborbital flights for the given power level. Accounting for the properties of real engines leads to the need of considering the mathematical models with more strict limits on control functions. A study of the efficiency of three modes of thrust control of an electric propulsion rocket engine was carried out when performing practically interesting spacecraft flights from highly elliptical intermediate near-earth orbits to geostationary orbits. A mathematical model of constant power relay rocket engine has been built. The formulation of the variational problem of the Maer type is given about the execution of a given dynamic maneuver for the throttled and unregulated electric rocket engines of constant power. Using the Pontryagin maximum principle, an analysis of the optimal control functions was carried out, for which the final relations were written out, which allowed to write down the system of differential equations of the optimal movement of the spacecraft, equipped with relay electric rocket engine. The obtained numerical and quality results of the study of the effectiveness of various modes of thrust control of an electric propulsion engine to increase the payload of a given orbital maneuver confirmed the correctness of mathematical models of throttled and relay engines and, in general, the efficiency of using solutions of the averaged equations of optimal motion of a spacecraft for numerical solution of the corresponding boundary value problems in an exact formulation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Alexandre Rodrigues de Vasconcelos Figueiredo ◽  
Francisco Miguel Ribeiro Proença Brojo

Rocket engines have been developed for at least the last six decades. There is a need to improve the actual solid propellant grain for rocket engines through the addiction of metallic fuels in the mixture as well as the addiction of energetic binders to stabilize the combustion. The rocket industry expects the launchers to be reliable, to be faster, stable and to have longer times of operation for the most possible payload weight (operational envelope). New propellants should have optimized ignition and combustion time rates reducing the possibility of negative oxygen balance thus reducing detonation process. Deflagration process should be optimized for best performance of the rocket. In this evolution, small quantities of explosives have been used in the propellant in order to increase the operational burning time, hence, the specific impulse. Adding metallic fuels such as aluminum, boron or beryllium on double based composite propellants and ammonium perchlorate are expected to increase the propellant density over chemical stability and aging resistance. The study of heterogeneous propellants containing large amounts of fine beryllium and ammonium perchlorate,   it is necessary to understand the combustion products so to a proper evaluation of specific impulse, Mach number and mass flow of the mixture. In this study a mixture with nitramides (RDX – Cyclotrimethylene trinitramide) and ammonium perchlorate was analyzed with and without the addiction of small size particles of beryllium using a numerical algorithm. Therefore, this study relates the influence of beryllium  in the performance parameters of ammonium perchlorate based composite propellants. Keywords: Propellant, Rocket engine, RDX, Ammonium perclorate


Author(s):  
Ya.N. MIGUNOV ◽  
V.V. ONUFRIEV

A model for calculating the voltage-current characteristic of a solar array in the presence of a temperature gradient by its photovoltaic converters and their variable illumination due to possible pollution under the action of space factors, including operation of electric rocket engines, is described. The model is based on the main equation of a solar cell. In this case both a one-dimensional and a two-dimensional temperature gradients are taken into account. The principles of constructing a model are given, and the initial data selection is made. To simulate the lighting conditions of the solar array such a concept as effective illumination is used, i.e. the density of the radiation flux which falls on photovoltaic converters passing through the protective coatings. The features of simulation of the temperature distribution in the solar array and the effective illumination of its surface in cases of parallel, serial and mixed switching of solar cells are described. The calculation procedures and examples of solar cells are given. The construction of the model in universal mathematical package Mathcad is described. Some simulation results are discussed. Key words: solar array, mathematical simulation, illumination, temperature gradient, electric rocket engine, spacecraft, Mathcad.


2020 ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
R.A. Tsarapkin ◽  
V.N. Ivanov ◽  
V.I. Biryukov

An experimental method is proposed for estimating the damping decrements of pressure fluctuations in the combustion chambers of forced rocket engines. The method is based on the statistical processing of noise pressure pulsations in the vicinity of natural resonance frequencies for normal modes of acoustic vibrations of the reaction volume and the subsequent prediction of the instability of the combustion process relative to acoustic vibrations. Based on the theory of statistical regression for multidimensional experimental data, the problem of predicting unknown parameters of sample distributions is solved by asymptotic determination of the correlation coefficient of the damping decrement of pressure vibrations through optimal linear predictors and the Kolmogorov distribution. Keywords rocket engine, combustion chamber, acoustic vibrations, combustion noise, spectral characteristics, Kolmogorov criterion, damping decrement. [email protected]


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared L. Callaham ◽  
James V. Koch ◽  
Bingni W. Brunton ◽  
J. Nathan Kutz ◽  
Steven L. Brunton

AbstractThroughout the history of science, physics-based modeling has relied on judiciously approximating observed dynamics as a balance between a few dominant processes. However, this traditional approach is mathematically cumbersome and only applies in asymptotic regimes where there is a strict separation of scales in the physics. Here, we automate and generalize this approach to non-asymptotic regimes by introducing the idea of an equation space, in which different local balances appear as distinct subspace clusters. Unsupervised learning can then automatically identify regions where groups of terms may be neglected. We show that our data-driven balance models successfully delineate dominant balance physics in a much richer class of systems. In particular, this approach uncovers key mechanistic models in turbulence, combustion, nonlinear optics, geophysical fluids, and neuroscience.


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