Nozzle having a movable divergent section with a thermal protection system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10041445-B2
Application number	US-201414767934-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 13, 2014
Priority date	Feb 15, 2013
Publication date	Aug 7, 2018
Grant date	Aug 7, 2018

Abstract

A nozzle having a movable diverging section, the nozzle including a stationary throat forming a ball joint and a diverging section having a top portion that is movably mounted around the throat; an annular lubrication chamber being interposed between the stationary throat and the top portion of the diverging section, the annular lubrication chamber containing a grease seal; an annular throttling element arranged between the stationary throat and the diverging section downstream from the annular lubrication chamber, the annular throttling element being made of refractory material; and an annular thermal protection element arranged between the stationary throat and the diverging section downstream from the annular lubrication chamber and upstream from the annular throttling element, the annular thermal protection element closing the lubrication chamber in its bottom portion.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A nozzle having a movable diverging section, the nozzle comprising:
a stationary throat having an exterior spherical surface forming a ball of a ball joint;
the movable diverging section having a top portion with an interior spherical surface forming a socket of the ball joint, the interior spherical surface in contact with and movably mounted around the exterior spherical surface;
an annular lubrication chamber interposed between the exterior spherical surface and the interior spherical surface of the top portion of the movable diverging section, said annular lubrication chamber containing a grease seal;
an annular throttling element arranged between the exterior spherical surface and the movable diverging section downstream from the annular lubrication chamber, said annular throttling element being made of refractory material; and
an annular thermal protection element arranged between the exterior spherical surface and the movable diverging section downstream from the annular lubrication chamber and upstream from the annular throttling element, said annular thermal protection element closing a bottom portion of the lubrication chamber, wherein downstream is the direction of a combustion gas flow through the stationary throat towards the movable diverging section.

2. A nozzle according to claim 1 , wherein the annular throttling element comprises a gland made of carbon fibers.

3. A nozzle according to claim 1 , wherein the annular throttling element comprises a ring of thermostructural composite material selected from at least: carbon/carbon composite material and ceramic matrix composite material.

4. A nozzle according to claim 1 , wherein the annular thermal protection element comprises an annular gasket made of graphite or of graphite-filled polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

5. A nozzle according to claim 1 , wherein the stationary throat is made at least in part out of a metal material.

6. A nozzle according to claim 1 , wherein portions of the stationary throat and of the movable diverging section that are in contact with the annular throttling element comprise a rigidimer thermal protection material.

7. A thruster, comprising a nozzle with a movable diverging section according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Herakles
• Arianegroup Sas

Inventors

• Berdoyes Michel
• Remigi Alain
• Larrieu Jean-Michel

Classifications

• F05D2260/98

  Lubrication · CPC title

• F02K9/84 Primary

  using movable nozzles · CPC title

• F02K1/004

  by using one or more swivable nozzles rotating about their own axis · CPC title

• F02K9/80

  characterised by thrust or thrust vector control (burning control of solid propellants F02K9/26; feeding control of liquid or gaseous propellants F02K9/56; re-ignitable, restartable or intermittently operated rocket-engine plants F02K9/94) · CPC title

• F02K9/97

  Rocket nozzles (thrust or thrust vector control F02K9/80) · CPC title