Liquid rocket engine with hybrid electric motor driven pump

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9964073-B1
Application number	US-201414548598-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Nov 20, 2014
Priority date	Nov 6, 2014
Publication date	May 8, 2018
Grant date	May 8, 2018

Abstract

A nuclear thermal rocket with a superconducting electric motor driven boost pump submerged within a tank of liquid hydrogen, where the boost pump is driven by both an electric motor and a turbine. The boost pump can be submerged in liquid hydrogen so that the electric motor operates as a superconducting motor. Also, a turbopump for a rocket engine can include both a turbine and an electric motor to drive the liquid oxidizer and liquid fuel pumps of the turbopump.

First claim

We claim the following:

1. A boost pump for a liquid rocket engine, the boost pump comprises:
a blade to pressurize a cryogenic liquid;
an electric motor to drive the blade of the boost pump;
a turbine connected to a rotor of the blade to drive the blade of the boost pump;
an electric motor controller to control operation of the electric motor of the boost pump; and
the electric motor is reversed to be a generator and generator power is discharged to a resistive load bank.

2. The boost pump of claim 1 and further comprising:
the motor controller can demand more or less power to either slow or speed up the boost pump in order to suppress cavitation.

3. A liquid rocket engine comprising:
a combustion chamber to produce a hot gas from combining a liquid fuel with a liquid oxidizer;
a turbopump with a gas turbine driving both a liquid fuel pump and a liquid oxidizer pump;
a boost pump having an outlet connected to an inlet of the liquid oxidizer pump to provide pressurized liquid oxidizer to the liquid oxidizer pump to prevent cavitation;
an electric motor/generator connected to the boost pump to drive the boost pump or be driven by the boost pump and produce electrical power;
a battery to receive electrical power from the electric motor/generator to charge the battery;
a resistor/load bank to dissipate electrical power produced by the electric motor/generator;
a heat exchanger around the combustion chamber to pass liquid fuel; and,
the liquid fuel that is passed through the heat exchanger is also passed through the resistor/load bank to cool the resistor/load bank.

Assignees

• Pinera Alejandro
• Miller Timothy J
• Florida Turbine Tech Inc

Inventors

• Pinera Alejandro
• Miller Timothy J

Classifications

• F04D13/086

  the pump and drive motor are both submerged · CPC title

• F02K9/46 Primary

  using pumps · CPC title

• F04D7/00

  Pumps adapted for handling specific fluids, e.g. by selection of specific materials for pumps or pump parts (F04D11/005, F04D29/22 take precedence) · CPC title

• F04D13/04

  the pump being fluid driven · CPC title

• F04D13/06

  the pump being electrically driven · CPC title