Liquid rocket engine using booster pump driven by electric motor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11060482-B2
Application number	US-201615750757-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 13, 2016
Priority date	Sep 14, 2015
Publication date	Jul 13, 2021
Grant date	Jul 13, 2021

Abstract

The present invention relates to a liquid rocket engine using a booster pump driven by an electric motor, and more particularly, to a liquid rocket engine using a booster pump driven by an electric motor in which a booster pump is installed between a propellant tank and a propellant pump so that a requirement for an inlet pressure of the propellant pump may be met even in a state in which an internal pressure of the propellant tank is reduced, resulting in reduced amount of a propellant and reduced weight of the propellant tank, and the electric motor configured to drive the booster pump may be efficiently cooled through an oxidant, a cooling line, and the like.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A liquid rocket engine comprising:
a main combustor to receive and combust an oxidant and a fuel;
a main oxidant line to guide the oxidant accommodated in an oxidant tank to the main combustor;
a main fuel line to guide the fuel accommodated in a fuel tank to the main combustor;
an oxidant pump installed at the main oxidant line;
a fuel pump installed at the main fuel line;
an oxidant booster pump installed at the main oxidant line between the oxidant tank and the oxidant pump;
a fuel booster pump installed at the main fuel line between the fuel tank and the fuel pump;
a biaxial electric motor installed between the oxidant booster pump and the fuel booster pump with an interval therebetween, the biaxial electric motor uniaxially connected to the oxidant booster pump and the fuel booster pump to drive the oxidant booster pump and the fuel booster pump;
a cooling line having a supply unit connected to the oxidant pump at a first end of the supply unit to guide oxidant leaked from the oxidant pump to said biaxial electric motor;
a cooler connected to a second end of the supply unit so as to allow leaked oxidant from the oxidant pump to flow to the cooler installed at said biaxial electric motor;
a cooling line opening/closing valve installed in the cooling line to supply the leaked oxidant to said biaxial electric motor when said biaxial electric motor is overheated; and
a battery connected to a side of the cooling line and configured to supply power to said biaxial electric motor;
wherein the cooling line includes a discharge unit having a first end connected to the cooler to guide the oxidant discharged from the cooler; and
wherein a second end of the discharge unit is connected to an outside of the liquid rocket engine, wherein the oxidant leaked from the oxidant pump is heat-exchanged with said biaxial electric motor and the battery and is then discharged to the outside of the liquid rocket engine.

2. The liquid rocket engine of claim 1 , further comprising:
a gas generator to generate a high-temperature and high-pressure gas;
an auxiliary oxidant line branched from the main oxidant line between the main combustor and the oxidant pump to guide a part of the oxidant to the gas generator;
an auxiliary fuel line branched from the main fuel line between the main combustor and the fuel pump to guide a part of the fuel to the gas generator; and
a turbine configured to be rotated by the high-temperature and high-pressure gas generated by the gas generator and drive the oxidant pump and the fuel pump.

3. The liquid rocket engine of claim 1 , wherein the cooler has a barrel shape to accommodate said biaxial electric motor and a flow path through the barrel shape.

4. The liquid rocket engine of claim 1 , wherein the cooler has a coil shape by being wound around an outer circumferential surface of said biaxial electric motor, one end of said coil shape is connected to the second end of the supply unit of the cooling line and an opposite end of said coil shape is connected to the first end of the discharge unit of the cooling line.

5. The liquid rocket engine of claim 1 , further comprising:
an igniter connected to the battery, the igniter installed on a side of the main combustor to ignite the main combustor by electric spark.

6. A liquid rocket engine comprising:
a main combustor to receive and combust an oxidant and a fuel;
a main oxidant line to guide the oxidant accommodated in an oxidant tank to the main combustor;
a main fuel line to guide the fuel accommodated in a fuel tank to the main combustor;
an oxidant pump installed at the main oxidant line;
a fuel pump installed at the main fuel line;
an oxidant booster pump installed at the main oxidant line between the oxidant tank and the oxidant pump;
a fuel booster pump installed at the main fuel line between the fuel tank and the fuel pump;
a first electric motor uniaxially connected to the oxidant booster pump to drive the oxidant booster pump;
a second electric motor uniaxially connected to the fuel booster pump to drive the fuel booster pump;
a cooling line having a supply unit connected to the oxidant pump to guide oxidant leaked from the oxidant pump to said first electric motor and said second electric motor;
a pair of coolers connected to the supply unit, a first cooler of the pair of coolers installed at said first electric motor and a second cooler of the pair of coolers installed at said second electric motor;
a cooling line opening/closing valve installed in the supply unit to supply the leaked oxidant to said pair of coolers when said first electric motor or said second electric motor is overheated; and
a battery connected to a side of the cooling line, said battery configured to supply power to said first electric motor and said second electric motor;
wherein the cooling line includes a discharge unit to guide the oxidant discharged from the first cooler and the second cooler; and
wherein the discharge unit is connected to an outside of the liquid rocket engine, wherein the oxidant leaked from the oxidant pump is heat-exchanged with both the first cooler and the second cooler and the battery and is then discharged to the outside of the liquid rocket engine.

7. The liquid rocket engine of claim 6 , further comprising:
a gas generator to generate a high-temperature and high-pressure gas;
an auxiliary oxidant line branched from the main oxidant line between the main combustor and the oxidant pump to guide a part of the oxidant to the gas generator;
an auxiliary fuel line branched from the main fuel line between the main combustor and the fuel pump to guide a part of the fuel to the gas generator; and
a turbine configured to be rotated by the high-temperature and high-pressure gas generated by the gas generator and drive the oxidant pump and the fuel pump.

8. The liquid rocket engine of claim 6 , wherein the first cooler has a barrel shape to accommodate said first electric motor and the second cooler has a barrel shape to accommodate said second electric motor.

9. The liquid rocket engine of claim 6 , wherein the first cooler has a coil shape by being wound around an outer circumferential surface of said first electric motor and the second cooler has a coil shape by being wound around an outer circumferential surface of said second electric motor, one end of said coil shape is connected to the supply unit of the cooling line and an opposite end of said coil shape is connected to the discharge unit of the cooling line.

10. The liquid rocket engine of claim 6 , further comprising:
an igniter connected to the battery, the igniter installed on a side of the main combustor to ignite the main combustor by electric spark.

Assignees

• Korea Aerospace Res Inst

Inventors

• Kwak Hyun Duck
• Kim Jin Han
• Kim Dae Jin
• Choi Chang Ho

Classifications

• H02K5/203

  specially adapted for liquids, e.g. cooling jackets · CPC title

• F02K9/46 Primary

  using pumps · CPC title

• F05D2260/205

  Cooling fluid recirculation, i.e. after cooling one or more components is the cooling fluid recovered and used elsewhere for other purposes · CPC title

• F02K9/48 Primary

  driven by a gas turbine fed by propellant combustion gases {or fed by vaporized propellants or other gases} · CPC title

• F02K9/95

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