Restartable ignition devices, systems, and methods thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10527004-B2
Application number	US-201514802537-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 17, 2015
Priority date	Jul 30, 2012
Publication date	Jan 7, 2020
Grant date	Jan 7, 2020

Abstract

Devices, methods, and systems for providing a restartable ignition system for a hybrid rocket system. In one embodiment, an ignition device includes a housing and at least two electrodes. The housing includes a first side and a second side and defines a bore with an axis extending therethrough between the first and second sides, the bore defining an internal surface of the housing. The at least two electrodes extend through the housing to the internal surface. The at least two electrodes are configured to be spaced apart so as to provide an electrical potential field along the internal surface between the at least two electrodes. Such housing is formed with and includes multiple flat layers such that the multiple flat layers provide ridges along the internal surface. With this arrangement, the internal surface with the ridges are configured to concentrate an electrical charge upon being subjected to the electrical potential field.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A restartable ignition device, comprising:
a housing formed through additive-manufacture layering multiple flat layers of a solid-grain fuel material deposited upon each other, the housing having a first side and a second side, the housing defining a bore with an axis, the bore extending therethrough between the first and second sides, the bore defined by an internal surface of the solid-grain fuel material within the housing, and the bore configured to pass an oxidizer therethrough; and
at least two electrodes extending through the housing to the internal surface, the at least two electrodes configured to be spaced apart so as to provide an electrical potential field along the internal surface of the solid-grain fuel material between the at least two electrodes;
wherein:
the multiple flat layers provide ridges along the internal surface configured to concentrate an electrical charge on the ridges, which act as micro-electrodes that produce localized electrical arcing thereon and ignite the internal surface of the solid-grain fuel material upon being subjected to the electrical potential field; and
the housing is configured such that as the solid-grain fuel material from the internal surface is initially consumed or removed through combustion of the solid-grain fuel material, a newly exposed internal surface of the solid-grain fuel material has newly exposed ridges that act as newly exposed micro-electrodes that produce localized electrical arcing thereon and re-ignite the newly exposed internal surface of the solid-grain fuel material upon being subjected to the electrical potential field.

2. The ignition device of claim 1 , wherein the internal surface comprises grooves, each groove extending between two adjacently extending ridges.

3. The ignition device of claim 1 , wherein each of the ridges are a periphery of each of the multiple flat layers.

4. The ignition device of claim 1 , wherein the multiple flat layers each define a plane oriented transverse relative to the axis of the bore.

5. The ignition device of claim 1 , wherein the at least two electrodes define a line therebetween, the line being generally parallel with a plane defined by each of the multiple flat layers.

6. The ignition device of claim 1 , wherein the internal surface defines a step configuration such that the bore at the first side is larger than the bore at the second side, the step configuration exhibiting a shelf extending to a shelf notch, the shelf notch having the at least two electrodes.

7. The ignition device of claim 1 , wherein the bore at the first side defines a first width and the bore at the second side defines a second width, the first width greater than the second width.

8. The ignition device of claim 1 , wherein the bore comprises a convergent configuration extending from the first side to the second side.

9. The ignition device of claim 1 , wherein the solid-grain fuel material is an Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) material.

10. A method of forming a restartable ignition device, the method comprising:
forming a housing through additive-manufacture layering with multiple flat layers of a solid-grain fuel material deposited upon each other, the housing having a first side and second side defining a bore with an axis, the bore extending through the housing between the first and second sides such that the bore is defined by an internal surface of the housing and the bore configured to pass an oxidizer therethrough; and
positioning at least two electrodes to extend through the housing to the internal surface such that the at least two electrodes are spaced and configured to provide an electrical potential field along the internal surface of the housing between the at least two electrodes;
wherein:
the forming the housing with the multiple flat layers of the solid-grain fuel material comprises forming the internal surface of the housing to include ridges, the ridges along the internal surface of the housing being configured to concentrate an electrical charge thereon upon being subjected to the electrical potential field; and
the forming the housing further comprises configuring the housing such that as the solid-grain fuel material from the internal surface of the housing is initially consumed or removed through combustion of the solid-grain fuel material, a newly exposed internal surface of the housing has newly exposed ridges that act as newly exposed micro-electrodes upon being subjected to the electrical potential field.

11. The method according claim 10 , wherein the forming the internal surface of the housing to include ridges comprises forming multiple micro-electrodes from the solid-grain fuel material, the micro-electrodes configured to arc the electrical charge on the newly exposed internal surface of the housing between the at least two electrodes.

12. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the forming the housing with multiple flat layers comprises forming the multiple flat layers in a plane oriented transverse relative to the axis of the bore.

13. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the positioning the at least two electrodes comprises positioning the at least two electrodes to define a line therebetween such that the line is generally parallel with a plane defined by each of the multiple flat layers.

14. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the forming the housing through additive-manufacture layering with multiple flat layers comprises forming the bore of the housing to include a step configuration to define a shelf.

15. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the forming the housing through additive-manufacture layering with multiple flat layers comprises forming the bore of the housing to include a convergent configuration extending from the first side to the second side of the housing.

16. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the forming the housing through additive-manufacture layering with multiple flat layers comprises forming the housing with layers of an Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) material.

17. A restartable, hybrid-rocket system, comprising:
a container sized to contain a liquid or gaseous oxidizer;
an ignition portion formed from multiple flat layers of a solid-grain fuel material deposited upon each other through additive-manufacture layering, the ignition portion having a first side and a second side, the ignition portion defining a bore with an axis, the bore extending therethrough between the first and second sides, the bore defined by an internal surface and the bore configured to receive the oxidizer from the container, the ignition portion including at least two electrodes configured to provide an electrical potential field along an internal surface of the solid-grain fuel material between the at least two electrodes;
a solid-grain combustion portion defining a combustion chamber, the combustion chamber corresponding with the bore of the ignition portion;
a post-combustion portion coupled to the solid-grain combustion portion; and
a nozzle coupled to the post-combustion portion configured to manipulate thrust to the rocket system;
the multiple flat layers of solid-grain fuel of the ignition portion providing ridges along the internal surface of the solid-grain fuel material configured to concentrate an electrical charge on the internal surface of the solid-grain fuel material between the at least two electrodes upon being subjected to the electrical potential field; and
the ignition portion is configured such that as the solid-grain fuel material from the internal surface is initially cons

Assignees

• Whitmore Stephen A
• Inkley Nathan
• Merkley Daniel P
• Univ Utah State

Inventors

• Whitmore Stephen A
• Inkley Nathan
• Merkley Daniel P

Classifications

• F02K9/95

  characterised by starting or ignition means or arrangements (safety devices F02K9/38) · CPC title

• F02K9/72

  using liquid and solid propellants, i.e. hybrid rocket-engine plants · CPC title

• F02K9/94 Primary

  Re-ignitable or restartable rocket- engine plants; Intermittently operated rocket-engine plants · CPC title

• H01T21/02

  of sparking plugs · CPC title

• H01T13/20

  characterised by features of the electrodes or insulation · CPC title