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Performance Analysis and Mass Estimation of a Small-Sized Liquid Rocket Engine with Electric-Pump Cycle

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Abstract

The propellant supply system of a liquid rocket engine using an electric pump has high reliability because of the relatively small number of components. The system also has the merit of a quick response and ease of control owing to its simple configuration. Recently, the rocket lab developed the Rutherford engine, which has an electric pump cycle, because of the improved technology in the electric motor and battery. This paper examined the development of the electric-pump cycle and compared the performance with other cycles for a small-sized low-thrust rocket engine. Performance analysis and mass estimation were conducted using the developed analysis program, in which reliability in mass estimation was improved based on the designed configuration or real performance data from commercial products. In addition, the modeling method and analysis procedure were described in detail. The results showed that it is possible to develop a small-sized engine with an electric-pump cycle when the present technologies are applied. The electric-pump cycle had a smaller dry mass than the gas-generator cycle, even at a low thrust level of 500 N, and showed higher performance in specific impulse and speed increments.

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Abbreviations

\(A\) :

Area (m2)

\(D\) :

Diameter (m)

\(E\) :

Energy (J)

\(H\) :

Pump head rise (m)

\(MR\) :

Mass ratio

\(P\) :

Power (W)

\(K\) :

Loss coefficient

\(S \cdot F\) :

Safety factor

\(V\) :

Volume (m3)

\(Q\) :

Volumetric flow rate (m3/s)

\({\text{Re}}\) :

Reynolds number

\(D_{{\text{s}}}\) :

Specific diameter (m)

\(N_{{\text{s}}}\) :

Specific speed

\(I_{{{\text{sp}}}}\) :

Specific impulse (s)

\(f\) :

Friction factor

\(g\) :

Gravitational acceleration (m/s2)

\(l\) :

Length (m)

\(m\) :

Mass (kg)

\(\dot{m}\) :

Mass flow rate (kg/s)

\(p\) :

Pressure (Pa)

\(r\) :

Radius (m)

\(t\) :

Thickness (m)

\(t_{{\text{b}}}\) :

Burning time (s)

\(u\) :

Ullage

\(v\) :

Fluid velocity (m/s)

\(L^{*}\) :

Characteristic length (m)

\(c^{*}\) :

Characteristic velocity (m/s)

\(\sigma_{{{\text{zul}}}}\) :

Yield strength (Pa)

\(\theta\) :

Degree

\(\alpha\) :

Bend angle (degree)

\(\eta\) :

Efficiency

\(\rho\) :

Density (kg/m3)

\(\varepsilon\) :

Nozzle area ratio

\(\kappa\) :

Margin

\(\omega\) :

Rotating speed

\(\delta_{{\text{P}}}\) :

Power density (W/kg)

\(\delta_{{\text{E}}}\) :

Energy density (W h/kg)

\(\Delta v\) :

Velocity increment (m/s)

\({\text{P}}\) :

Power

\({\text{E}}\) :

Energy

\({\text{b}}\) :

Battery

\({\text{c}}\) :

Combustion chamber

\({\text{e}}\) :

Nozzle exit

\({\text{elb}}\) :

Elbow

\({\text{f}}\) :

Fuel

\({\text{gg}}\) :

Gas generator

\({\text{in}}\) :

Inner, input

\({\text{inv}}\) :

Inverter

\({\text{m}}\) :

Motor

\({\text{n}}\) :

Nozzle

\({\text{o}}\) :

Oxidizer

\({\text{out}}\) :

Outer, output

\({\text{p}}\) :

Pump

\({\text{prop}}\) :

Propellant

\({\text{pip}}\) :

Pipe

\({\text{t}}\) :

Throat

\({\text{tk}}\) :

Tank

\({\text{tp}}\) :

Turbo-pump

\({\text{turb}}\) :

Turbine

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Defense Acquisition Program Administration and Agency for Defense Development under the contract UD180046.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Aerospace Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, 22212, Republic of Korea

    Juyeon Lee, Tae-Seong Roh & Hyoung Jin Lee

  2. Department of Aerospace Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea

    Hwanil Huh

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Correspondence to Hyoung Jin Lee.

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Lee, J., Roh, TS., Huh, H. et al. Performance Analysis and Mass Estimation of a Small-Sized Liquid Rocket Engine with Electric-Pump Cycle. Int. J. Aeronaut. Space Sci. 22, 94–107 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42405-020-00325-z

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