Thrust control apparatus of propulsion system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10823116-B2
Application number	US-201916387707-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 18, 2019
Priority date	Sep 11, 2018
Publication date	Nov 3, 2020
Grant date	Nov 3, 2020

Abstract

The proposed technology relates to a thrust control apparatus of a propulsion system, and more particularly, to a thrust control apparatus of a solid propulsion system equipped with an aerospike pintle nozzle. The present invention is to simultaneously control the magnitude and direction of thrust by installing a pintle and a thrust vectoring unit at the rear end of a combustion tube of a solid propulsion system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A thrust control apparatus for controlling magnitude and direction of thrust of a propulsion system, the thrust control apparatus comprising:
an aerospike pintle nozzle extending from a combustion tube in which a propellant grain is burned;
a pintle disposed in the aerospike pintle nozzle;
a driving motor disposed on an inner side of the aerospike pintle nozzle and moving the pintle toward a front end and a rear end of the combustion tube;
a thrust vectoring unit disposed at a rear end of the aerospike pintle nozzle;
a cylinder moving and rotating the thrust vectoring unit; and wherein the thrust vectoring unit has:
a ring-shaped sliding part having an outer side being in contact with an inner wall of the aerospike pintle nozzle; and
a rotational part extending a predetermined length outside the combustion tube from a rear end of the sliding part,
wherein a first end of the cylinder is fixed to an end of the rotational part,
wherein the magnitude and the direction of thrust of the propulsion system are simultaneously controlled by moving the pintle and the rotational part, and curvature is formed at an inner end of the sliding part,
wherein a curved outer side of the sliding part is curved at the same angle as the inner wall of the aerospike pintle nozzle such that the sliding part slides on the inner wall of the aerospike pintle nozzle forward and rearward along a central axis of the combustion tube by contracting and expanding the cylinder and the rotational part moves in the same direction as the sliding part by contracting and expanding of the cylinder,
wherein a curved inner side of the sliding part ends with a pointed portion which comes close to the pintle,
wherein the rotational part is rotated close to or away from an outer side of the pintle by the sliding part moving along a curve of the aerospike pintle nozzle.

2. The thrust control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein an end of the rotational part functions as a nozzle neck.

3. The thrust control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the direction of thrust is controlled by movement and rotation of the thrust vectoring unit.

4. The thrust control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein when the cylinder contracts, the sliding part moves toward the front end of the combustion tube.

5. The thrust control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein when the cylinder expands, the sliding part moves toward the rear end of the combustion tube.

6. The thrust control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein when the cylinder contracts, a portion of the rotation part is rotated away from the outer side of the pintle.

7. The thrust control apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the portion of the rotational part moves away from the outer side of the pintle, a nozzle neck gap that is a gap between an end of a corresponding curved portion of the thrust vectoring unit acid the pintle gradually widens.

8. The thrust control apparatus of claim 7 , wherein as the nozzle neck gap widens, thrust at a position where the end of the curved portion of the thrust vectoring unit and the pintle are positioned increases.

9. The thrust control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein when the cylinder expands, a portion of the rotational part is rotated close to the outer side of the pintle.

10. The thrust control apparatus of claim 9 , wherein as the portion of the rotational part moves close to the outer side of the pintle, a nozzle neck gap that is a gap between an end of a corresponding curved portion of the thrust vectoring unit and the pintle gradually narrows.

11. The thrust control apparatus of claim 10 , wherein as the nozzle neck gap narrows, thrust at a portion where the end of the curved portion of the thrust vectoring unit and the pintle are positioned decreases.

Assignees

• Agency Defense Dev

Inventors

• Kim Jeong-Jin
• Oh Seok-Jin
• Heo Jun-Young

Classifications

• F02K9/86

  using nozzle throats of adjustable cross- section {(F02K9/978 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• F42B10/666 Primary

  characterised by using a nozzle rotatable about an axis transverse to the axis of the projectile · CPC title

• F02K9/84

  using movable nozzles · CPC title

• F02K7/08

  the jet being continuous · CPC title

• F02K9/80 Primary

  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