Fundamental Concepts of Liquid-Propellant Rocket Engines

This book is intended for students and engineers who design and develop liquid-propellant rocket engines, offering them a guide to the theory and practice alike. It first presents the fundamental concepts (the generation of thrust, the gas flow through the combustion chamber and the nozzle, the liquid propellants used, and the combustion process) and then qualitatively and quantitatively describes the principal components involved (the combustion chamber, nozzle, feed systems, control systems, valves, propellant tanks, and interconnecting elements). The book includes extensive data on existing engines, typical values for design parameters, and worked-out examples of how the concepts discussed can be applied, helping readers integrate them in their own work. Detailed bibliographical references (including books, articles, and items from the "gray literature") are provided at the end of each chapter, together with information on valuable resources that can be found online. Given its scope, the book will be of particular interest to undergraduate and graduate students of aerospace engineering.

Autorentext

Alessandro de Iaco Veris holds degrees in civil engineering and aerospace engineering, both from the University of Rome. He has also completed specialist training, including a high-level professional course on "Projet, calcul et emploi des fusées spatiales" at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ENSAE) and a course on "Dynamics of Controlled Structures" at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is a strong proponent of the application of mathematics for practical purposes and in particular for the solution of problems arising in engineering. His expertise is in the fields of mathematical models and numerical methods for aerodynamics, space flight mechanics, system studies, and mission analysis. His professional interests include numerical integration methods used to predict the motion of space vehicles and Earth satellites subject to perturbations.

Inhalt

Preface

Chapter 1: Fundamental concepts on liquid-propellant rocket

engines

1. The generation of thrust

2. The gas flow through the combustion chamber and the nozzle

3. Performance indicators

4. Liquid propellants for high-thrust rocket engines

5. Combustion of propellants in steady state

6. Combustion of propellants in unsteady state

7. The principal components of a liquid-propellant rocket engine

Chapter 2: The thrust chamber assembly

1. The principal components of a thrust chamber

2. The design of a thrust chamber for thrust vector control

3. Performance of a thrust chamber

4. Configuration and design of a thrust chamber

5. Cooling of a thrust chamber

6. Injectors

7. Gas-generator and other engine cycles

8. Igniters

9. Combustion instability

Chapter 3: Feed systems using gases under pressure

1. Fundamental concepts

2. Requirements for gases stored under pressure

3. Feed systems using gases stored for bi-propellants

4. Feed systems using evaporation of two propellants

5. Feed systems using gases stored for mono-propellants

6. Feed systems using combustion products

7. Control systems for liquid-propellant gas generators

8. Feed systems using direct injection into the main propellant tanks

   9. Choice of a feed system using gases under pressure

Chapter 4: Feed systems using turbo-pumps

1. Fundamental concepts

2. Pumps for propellants

3. Turbines driving the pumps

4. Sources of energy for turbines

5. Description of a typical turbo-pump

6. Turbo-pump performance

7. Turbo-pump design parameters

8. Heads and mass flow rates of pumps

9. Design of centrifugal-flow pumps

10. Design of axial-flow pumps

11. Design of turbines

12. Bearings for turbo-pumps

13. Seals for turbo-pumps

14. Gears for turbo-pumps

Chapter 5: Control systems and valves

1. Fundamental concepts on control systems

2. Control systems for rocket engines

3. Control of thrust magnitude

4. Control of propellant mixture ratio

5. Control of propellant consumption

6. Control of thrust direction

   7. Principal components of flow control systems

7. Static and dynamic seals for leakage control in valves

8. Design of propellant valves

9. Design of pilot valves

10. Design of flow regulating devices of the fixed-area type

11. Design of servo-valves

12. Design of pressure-reducing regulators

    14. Design of differential pressure regulators

13. Design of relief valves

14. Design of check valves

15. Design of burst discs

16. Design of explosive valves

Chapter 6: Tanks for propellants

1. Fundamental concepts

2. Tanks subject only to membrane stresses

3. Tanks subject to membrane and bending stresses

4. Multi-element tanks

5. Tanks subject to loads due to propellant sloshing

6. Slosh-suppression devices for tanks

7. Materials, processes, and environmental conditions of tanks

8. Fracture control of metals used for tanks

9. Structural elements of tanks Chapter 7: Interconnecting components and structures

10. Fundamental concepts

11. Interconnecting ducts and structures in a rocket engine

12. Materials used for tubing in rocket engines

13. Coupling components for tubing

14. Control of pressure loss in tubing

15. Control of vibrations at the inlet of pumps

    7. Bellows joints

16. Flexible hoses

17. Filters

18. Design of a flange joint

19. Gaskets and other seals for flange joints

20. Design of a bellows joint for a flexible duct