Preliminary Design Of A Pressurization System For Small Bipropellant Rocket Engines

Preliminary Design of a Pressurization System for Small Bipropellant Rocket Engines

A study was conducted on the feasibility of developing a device or system that would improve the performance of small, bipropellant rockets through pressurization of the propellants. Due to the limitations in the space industry, namely high development costs and resistance to change, the new approach needed to be as simple and robust as possible. After reviewing several different potential methodologies, a concept was developed from first principles based on small gas turbine engine fuel injection approaches. The concept is simple and has heritage in the field of gas turbine engines, but it is new for the field of rocket propulsion. Using the basic physics of the proposed baseline concept, a simulation was developed to optimize the design parameters and to explore the trade space. Exercising the resulting simulation led to the identification of the critical design parameters and key performance metrics. During the iteration process, the design was updated and finalized. The resulting configuration appears to be feasible and has the potential of providing a new capability for small bipropellant rockets. Based upon the results of the study, recommendations were developed and a plan was created to further the development of the pump.

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