KR102166165B1 - Propellant supply equipment of liquid rocket engine driven by superconducting electric motor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a propellant supply device of a liquid rocket engine driven by a superconducting electric motor, which comprises: a housing having a propellant to be introduced thereinto; an impeller disposed in an inner space of the housing; a motor for rotating a shaft to which the impeller is connected; a motor housing having the motor accommodated therein; a main flow path through which the propellant is discharged to a combustion chamber of a liquid rocket engine by the impeller; a first propellant transfer flow path which is formed by communicating at least one of a storage tank, a housing, and a main flow path of the propellant with an inner space of the motor housing, and is a passage for introducing the propellant from at least one of the storage tank, the housing, and the main flow path to the inner space of the motor housing for cooling the motor; and a second propellant transfer flow path, a passage through which the propellant having cooled the motor by flowing in the inner space of the motor housing is discharged to at least one of the storage tank, the housing, and the main flow path. According to the present invention, a liquid rocket engine propellant can be efficiently supplied.

Description

A liquid rocket engine driven by a superconducting electric motor {PROPELLANT SUPPLY EQUIPMENT OF LIQUID ROCKET ENGINE DRIVEN BY SUPERCONDUCTING ELECTRIC MOTOR}

[01] The apparatus for supplying propellant for a liquid rocket engine according to the present invention uses a cryogenic liquid as a propellant supplied to the liquid rocket engine, but the cryogenic as a refrigerant for an electric motor for driving a pump that provides power to supply the propellant By using the liquid, the electric motor relates to a propellant supply device for a liquid rocket engine driven by a superconducting electric motor.

In general, the propulsion method of a rocket engine system can be classified into i) a chemical propulsion method using energy according to a chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant, and ii) an electronic propulsion method using energy according to the electron emission of a propellant.

At this time, the rocket engine system according to the chemical propulsion method can be classified according to the type of propellant, and specifically, a single propellant containing all of the fuel and oxidizing agent used in the rocket as one propellant, the fuel and the oxidizing agent A separate two-way propellant can be classified as a three-way propellant in which a catalyst is added to the two-way propellant.

On the other hand, the rocket engine system according to the chemical propulsion method may be composed of a storage tank of the propellant, a supply system thereof, and a thruster. Here, the propellant is collectively referred to as fuel and oxidizer used in the rocket, and various types of propellants described above may be applied. At this time, the storage tank of the propellant refers to one or more physical spaces for storing the fuel and oxidizing agent according to the type of each propellant. In addition, the supply system consists of a pipe, a valve, and a pressurization system, and serves to supply the propellant to the combustion chamber. In addition, the thruster includes an injector, an ignition device, a combustion chamber, and a nozzle, and serves to generate power to the rocket using a propellant supplied through the supply system.

On the other hand, in order to increase the output of the rocket engine, it is important that the supply system supplies the fuel and oxidizer of the rocket engine to the combustion chamber at high pressure. As a supply method for this, there are a pressurization method and a pump method.

At this time, the pressurization method is a method of injecting high-pressure gas at the front of the propellant storage tank in order to maintain a constant pressure of fuel and oxidizing agent supplied to the combustion chamber from the propellant storage tank or to increase it above a certain level, and the pump method is A pump is used to increase the flow pressure of the fuel and oxidant, but the pump is operated by a gas turbine.

Specifically, the pressurization method has the advantage that the design is easy due to its relatively simple structure, but the wall thickness and weight of the storage tank are inevitably increased to withstand high pressure, resulting in an increase in the weight of the launch vehicle rocket. Have.

Meanwhile, as described above, the pump method is a method in which a pump used to increase the flow pressure of fuel and oxidizer is operated by a gas turbine. At this time, there are various methods of supplying gas for driving the gas turbine. , Specifically, it can be classified into a gas generator method, an expander method, and a multi-stage combustion method.

In the case of the pump method as above, if the gas turbine and the propellant discharged from the pump are mixed with each other, an unexpected chemical reaction may occur because one medium and the other medium are mixed. In this case, an explosion may occur, so a sealing design must be performed to maintain airtightness between the gas turbine and the pump.

However, the pump method does not have to be high pressure when the propellant of the storage tank is introduced into the pump, so it has the advantage that the wall thickness and weight of the storage tank can be drastically reduced compared to the pressurization method, and most rocket engine systems It is being used in

In line with this, in recent years, in order to further reduce the weight and volume of the storage tank, cryogenic liquid is used as the fuel and/or oxidizing agent constituting the propellant, and a rocket engine system using the liquid as a propellant is used as a liquid. It is called a rocket engine system.

The reason why the liquid rocket engine system as described above is in the spotlight in recent years is that liquid is much denser than gas, and therefore, if a cryogenic liquid is used as a propellant, the weight and volume of the propellant storage tank can be further reduced. At this time, examples of the cryogenic liquid include liquid hydrogen (temperature 20 K or less), liquid oxygen (temperature 90 K or less), liquid methane (120 K or less), and the like.

Meanwhile, among the pump methods, there is also an electric motor-pump method in which the pump is operated using an electric motor instead of a gas turbine. In the case of the electric motor-pump method, design and control are relatively simple because a gas turbine is not used, but high power (tens to hundreds of kW) is required to generate the required power, so the electric motor continues for about 5-10 minutes. In this case, since the expected heat generation is also at a very high level (several to tens of kW), cooling of the electric motor is required as a very important design factor for smooth use of the electric motor-pump method.

Accordingly, in recent years, in relation to the electric motor-pump type liquid rocket engine system, there is a demand for a method capable of efficiently and effectively cooling the electric motor.

US Patent Publication No. 6457306 (Name of invention: Electrical drive system for rocket engine propellant pumps) Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1441875 (Name of invention: Superconducting cryogenic pump for forced circulation of cryogenic refrigerant)

The propellant supply device of the liquid rocket engine of the present invention uses a cryogenic liquid as a propellant supplied to the liquid rocket engine, but uses an electric motor using a superconducting coil as a driving part of a pump that provides power to supply the propellant, An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid rocket engine propellant supply device capable of solving the cooling problem of the electric motor through the cryogenic liquid and continuously maintaining the superconducting state of the electric motor.

A propellant supply device for a liquid rocket engine according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a housing into which the propellant flows, an impeller disposed in an inner space of the housing, a motor rotating a shaft to which the impeller is connected, and a motor housing in which the motor is accommodated. , A main flow passage, which is a passage through which the propellant is discharged into the combustion chamber of the liquid rocket engine by the impeller, is formed as the inner space of the motor housing communicates with at least one of the storage tank, the housing, and the main passage of the propellant, The storage tank, the housing, and the first propellant transfer passage, which is a passage through which the propellant flows into the inner space of the motor housing for cooling the motor, from at least one of the main passage, and flows in the inner space of the motor housing. It may include a second propellant conveying passage that is a passage through which the propellant cooled the motor is discharged to at least one of the storage tank, the housing, and the main passage.

[18] In the present embodiment, the motor includes a coil having superconductivity, and the propellant may act as a refrigerant in the superconducting coil.

[19] In this embodiment, the impeller is rotated by being coupled to the shaft of the motor, and the housing and the motor housing may form a sealing design.

[20] In this embodiment, the propellant is a cryogenic liquid state, and may include liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, or liquid methane.

[21] In the present embodiment, the housing includes a propellant inlet passage through which the propellant is introduced into the inner space with one end open, and an inducer disposed inside the propellant inlet passage and coupled to the shaft of the motor It may include.

[22] A propulsion system for a liquid rocket engine according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a propellant supply device for a liquid rocket engine, at least one propellant storage tank for storing the propellant supplied to the propellant supply device, and a propellant from the propellant supply device. It may be made including a combustion device for receiving and burning the supplied.

[23] In this embodiment, the motor of the propellant supply device includes a superconducting coil, and the propellant is in a cryogenic liquid state, and includes liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, or liquid methane, and the superconducting coil is used as a refrigerant. Can work.

[24] In the present embodiment, when the propellant is composed of a fuel and an oxidizing agent, and at least one of the fuel and the oxidizing agent is in a cryogenic liquid state, the propellant in the cryogenic liquid state is supplied to the motor housing in which the motor is accommodated, and the It can be made to act as a refrigerant to cool the motor.

According to the propellant supply device for a liquid rocket engine according to the present invention, the following effects may be provided, but are not limited thereto.

According to the propellant supply device for a liquid rocket engine according to the present invention, before the propellant, which is a cryogenic liquid, is discharged into the combustion chamber, it can be used as a refrigerant for an electric motor for driving a pump.

[27] According to the propellant supply device of the liquid rocket engine of the present invention, a propellant, which is a cryogenic liquid, can be used as a refrigerant for an electric motor, so that an electric motor using a superconducting coil can be used, and the electric motor has a superconducting state. There is a sustainable effect.

According to the propellant supply device for a liquid rocket engine according to the present invention, since the cryogenic liquid propellant can be discharged into the combustion chamber even after being used as a refrigerant for an electric motor, there is an effect that an efficient liquid rocket engine propellant can be supplied.

1 is a view showing a propulsion system of a liquid rocket.
2 is a view showing a propulsion system of a liquid rocket driven by a pump by a gas turbine and a propulsion system of a liquid rocket driven by an electric motor.
3 is a view showing a propellant supply device for a liquid rocket engine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view showing a liquid rocket engine propulsion system including a propellant supply device for a liquid rocket engine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art may easily implement the present invention. However, the present invention may be implemented in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Further, in the drawings, parts not related to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention, and similar reference numerals are attached to similar parts throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to be "connected" with another part, this includes not only "directly connected" but also "electrically connected" with another element interposed therebetween. . In addition, when a part "includes" a certain component, it means that other components may be further included rather than excluding other components unless specifically stated to the contrary.

Hereinafter, a propellant supply device 1 for a liquid rocket engine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

1 is a view showing a propulsion system of a liquid rocket, and FIG. 2 is a view showing a propulsion system of a liquid rocket driven by a gas turbine and a propulsion system of a liquid rocket driven by an electric motor.

1 and 2, the propulsion system of the liquid rocket may largely include a propellant storage tank, a supply system, and a combustion device. In this case, the propellant storage tank may include an oxidant storage tank for storing an oxidizer and a fuel storage tank for storing fuel, as shown in FIG. 1.

As described above, the propellant consists of a single propellant containing both fuel and an oxidizing agent used in a rocket, a binary propellant in which the fuel and oxidizing agent are separated, and a three-way propellant in which a catalyst is added to the binary propellant. I can.

In the case of a binary propellant or a three-way propellant, if the components constituting the propellant are mixed with each other before reaching the combustion chamber, unexpected chemical reactions or in the worst case explosion may occur.Therefore, the propellant needs to be stored/supplied separately. The number and/or material of the propellant storage tank may vary according to the design, and the number and/or material of the propellant storage tank is not limited in the present invention.

However, hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that a binary propellant is used as a propellant, and accordingly, it is assumed that the propellant storage tank is composed of a fuel storage tank and an oxidizing agent storage tank as shown in FIG. 1.

On the other hand, the pump in the supply system is for providing power to supply the propellant stored in the storage tank to the combustion device. In this case, the pump may be divided into a centrifugal pump and an axial pump, and the description will be made on the premise of using a centrifugal pump, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Here, in the centrifugal pump, the propellant introduced in the axial direction passes through a rotating body in the pump such as an inducer and/or an impeller while receiving pressure energy and velocity energy by centrifugal force, and then passes through the volute shape again and Energy is also converted into pressure energy and then discharged in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and refers to a pump capable of delivering a propellant to a very high pressure by centrifugal force.

In addition, in the axial flow pump, the propellant flowing in the axial direction passes through the rotating body in the pump and is given velocity energy, and then the velocity energy is converted into pressure energy and then discharged in the axial direction, and the propellant increases the velocity energy. It refers to a pump that can be delivered at high pressure by

At this time, a gas turbine and an electric motor can be used as a driving part for the pump of the supply system, and when a gas turbine is used (see Fig. 2(a)), a gas generator or a gas generator is used to form the flow of the propellant. A pre-burner may be included. In addition, when an electric motor is used (refer to FIG. 2(b)), a battery may be included for the purpose of supplying driving power of the electric motor, and an inverter for controlling the electric motor may be included. have.

The propellant supply device 1 for a liquid rocket engine according to an embodiment of the present invention corresponds to a case where an electric motor is used as a supply system, and more specifically, a cryogenic liquid is used as a propellant, but this is an electric motor 13 ), the superconductivity of the electric motor 13 (for this purpose, the electric motor may include a superconducting coil) is expressed/sustained, thereby achieving the effect of high output and high efficiency of the electric motor 13 It is to do.

3 is a view showing a propellant supply device 1 for a liquid rocket engine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the propellant supply device 1 (hereinafter,'propellant supply device') of a liquid rocket engine according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 10, a volute 10A, an impeller 11, and It may include a transducer 12, a superconducting motor 13, a motor housing 14, a main channel 15, a first propellant transfer channel 16, and a second propellant transfer channel 17.

First, the housing 10 is a part that forms the outer edge of the pump, and the propellant introduced from the propellant storage tank flows in the inner space, and can accommodate a pump unit such as the impeller 11 and the inducer 12. . In particular, the housing 10 may have a shape of a volute (10A), and this is a structure in which a flow path through which the introduced internal fluid flows, and some of them have a wide width and some of them have a narrow width. Say. The housing 10 plays a role of converting the dynamic pressure of the internal fluid passing through the corresponding flow paths into positive pressure according to such structural characteristics. An additional description of this will be described later.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the propellant used in the propellant supply device 1 may include a cryogenic liquid. For example, the propellant, that is, the cryogenic liquid may be composed of liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, liquid methane, etc., but is not limited thereto. Accordingly, the cryogenic liquid in the present invention may include all of the various cryogenic liquids that can be produced up to now or in the future.

At this time, the housing 10 may include a propellant inlet passage 101 through which the propellant stored in the storage tank can be introduced by opening an upper end thereof, and further, the housing 10 may include the introduced propellant It may include a side end that is opened laterally to form a discharge passage. At this time, the side end is connected to the main flow path 15 to be described later, so that the discharged propellant can be supplied to the combustion chamber.

On the other hand, according to the foregoing premise, when the propellant is a binary propellant, a fuel storage tank and an oxidant storage tank may be separately formed, and in this case, the propellant supplying device 1 may also be formed individually. For example, this will be referred to as a first propellant supply device and a second propellant supply device, respectively.

That is, in the case of a binary propellant, the fuel stored in the fuel storage tank may be supplied to the combustion chamber after flowing into the first propellant supply device, and the oxidizing agent stored in the oxidizing agent storage tank is introduced into the second propellant supply device. It can then be supplied to the combustion chamber.

In addition, the fuel and the oxidizing agent may both be cryogenic liquids, but one of the two may be a cryogenic liquid and the other may not be a cryogenic liquid. For example, when the oxidizing agent is a cryogenic liquid and the fuel is not a cryogenic liquid, as described above, the oxidizing agent, which is the cryogenic liquid, may be introduced into the first propellant supply device, and the fuel other than the cryogenic liquid is the second It can be introduced into the propellant supply device.

In this case, only an oxidizing agent, which is a cryogenic liquid flowing into the first propellant supply device, may be used as a refrigerant for the electric motor according to an embodiment of the present invention, which will be described below. In this case, the second propellant supply Non-cryogenic liquid fuel introduced into the device can be discharged directly into the main flow path without flowing into the motor housing and supplied to the combustion chamber.

On the other hand, the inducer 12 may suck the propellant flowing into the inflow passage 101, in particular, it may perform a boosting pressure on the propellant flowing into the inflow passage 101.

Specifically, when the propellant flowing into the inflow passage 101 passes through the impeller 11 in the housing 10, a rapid dynamic pressure rise is achieved and a rapid static pressure drop is achieved. A phenomenon in which a cavity is formed in the propellant, that is, cavitation may occur. Accordingly, in order to prevent such cavitation from occurring, the inducer 12 is positioned ahead of the impeller 11, but performs a boosting pressure on the propellant flowing into the inflow passage 101.

Meanwhile, the inducer 12 is disposed inside the inflow passage 101, and is coupled to the shaft 131 of the superconducting motor 13, which will be described later, to rotate 360 degrees. To this end, a bearing 132 may be coupled to the shaft 131 to support the shaft and facilitate rotation. At this time, the inducer 12 may be disposed adjacent to a portion of the propellant introduced into the inner space of the housing 10 than the impeller 11, as mentioned above.

The impeller 11 may be for forming a flow so that the propellant passing through the inducer 12 in the inner space of the housing 10 is discharged to the main flow path 15. In particular, the impeller 11 It can play a role of increasing the dynamic pressure by improving the speed. Accordingly, the propellant having a slight pressure increase while passing through the inducer 12 may increase the dynamic pressure to the required system level while passing through the impeller 11. At this time, the propellant whose dynamic pressure is increased while passing through the impeller 11 passes through flow paths in the shape of a volute (10A) in the housing 10 as described above, and in this process, the dynamic pressure of the propellant is changed to a positive pressure. do.

Meanwhile, the impeller 11 is disposed in the inner space of the housing 10 and is coupled to the shaft 131 of the superconducting motor 13 like the inducer 12 to rotate 360 degrees. To this end, a bearing 132 may be coupled to the shaft 131 to support the shaft and facilitate rotation. For example, the impeller 11 may be formed in various shapes such as a furnace type, a propeller type, and a screw type, but is not limited thereto, and may be implemented in various shapes.

The superconducting motor 13 is for rotating the shaft 131 to rotate the impeller 11 and the inducer 12. In the present invention, the superconducting motor 13 may include a superconducting coil, and the superconducting coil may be made of a material having superconductivity.

That is, the superconducting motor 13 is a motor comprising a superconducting coil having superconductivity, and at this time, the term superconductivity means that when the temperature approaches cryogenic (absolute temperature), the electrical resistance approaches zero and the internal It is a phenomenon in which a magnetic field is also repelled, and it is a phenomenon in which a large current can flow with little power loss.

As a superconductor that can have such superconductivity, there are about 20 types of metal elements such as niobium (Nb), vanadium (V), and mercury (Ag) as a single element, and the alloy is an alloy of niobium and germanium (Nb3Ge). And the like, and there are also metal compounds containing elements such as neodymium (Nd) and lanthanum (La).

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cryogenic propellant described above acts as a refrigerant on the superconducting coil of the superconducting motor 13 while flowing along the passage formed in the motor housing 14, so that the heated superconducting coil changes the superconducting state. It can be cooled to keep it. Accordingly, when the cryogenic propellant maintains the temperature of the superconducting motor 13 below a certain temperature, the superconducting motor 13 having superconductivity can generate high output.

The motor housing 14 is for accommodating the superconducting motor 13 and a refrigerant propellant. The motor housing 14 may be hermetically coupled 133 with the housing 10 so that the propellant inside the housing 10 does not randomly flow into or discharge into its internal space to cause explosion or failure.

At this time, the airtight coupling 133 may be made of an interpropellant seal (IPS), and the IPS is provided in the premise that the airtightness formed in the rotating body rotating at high speed cannot be made completely, and as a supplement to the airtightness in the rotating body. It refers to a method of continuously injecting gas such as helium and argon into the required region to form the airtightness through a gas layer composed of multiple layers (about 3 layers).

On the other hand, the main passage 15 is a passage for discharging the propellant having a static pressure increased by the shape of the volute 10A of the housing 10 to the combustion chamber after the dynamic pressure is increased by the impeller 11. One end of the main passage 15 may be connected to the housing 10, and the other end may be connected to a combustion chamber of a liquid rocket engine.

The first propellant feed passage 16 serves as a passage for communicating the housing 10 and/or the main passage 15 and the motor housing 14. The propellant flowing in the housing 10 and/or the main passage 15 through the first propellant transfer passage 16 may be introduced into the motor housing 14.

For example, the first propellant transfer passage 16 connects one end opened to the side portion of the main passage 15 and the other end opened to the side portion of the motor housing 14 to connect the propellant inside the main passage 15 Can be introduced into the motor housing 14. Alternatively, the first propellant transfer passage 16 connects one end opened to the side of the housing 10 and the other end opened to the side of the motor housing 14 to transfer the propellant inside the main passage 15 to the motor housing. (14) can be introduced. At this time, in the present invention, the propellant introduced into the motor housing 14 is a cryogenic liquid propellant, which is continuously supplied to the motor housing 14 and then circulates the motor housing 14, and the superconducting motor in the motor housing It can act as a refrigerant to cool (13).

On the other hand, the second propellant transfer passage 17 is a passage through which the propellant cooled the superconducting motor 13 in the motor housing 14 is discharged to the housing 10 and/or the main passage 15. will be. Through this, the propellant used as a refrigerant inside the motor housing 14 can be discharged back to the housing 10 and/or the main flow path 15, and the discharged propellant can be supplied to the combustion chamber. Can be formed.

Specifically, the second propellant transfer passage 17 connects one end opened to the side portion of the motor housing 14 and the other end opened to the side portion of the main passage 15 to provide a cryogenic liquid inside the motor housing 14. Phosphorus propellant may be introduced into the main flow path 15 again. Alternatively, the second propellant transfer passage 17 is a propellant which is a cryogenic liquid inside the motor housing 14 by connecting one end opened to the side of the motor housing 14 and the other end opened to the side of the housing 10. Can be introduced into the housing 10.

Meanwhile, as described above, in the case of a binary propellant, both the fuel or the oxidizer may be a cryogenic liquid, but only one of the two may be a cryogenic liquid. Referring to FIG. 4, in this case, the fuel and the oxidizing agent are stored in the fuel tank, respectively, and then different propellant supply devices, that is, the first propellant supply device (the propellant supply device shown on the left side of FIG. 4), and Each can be introduced into the second propellant supply device (the propellant supply device shown in the right side of FIG. 4), of which only cryogenic liquid flows into the motor housing 14 to serve as a refrigerant for the superconducting motor 13 can do. For example, when the oxidizing agent is a cryogenic liquid, but the fuel is not a cryogenic liquid, the oxidizing agent, which is a cryogenic liquid, flows into the motor housing 14 of the second propellant supply device and serves as a refrigerant for the superconducting motor 13, 2 Circulation that flows back into the main flow path 15 of the propellant supply device can be made, and the oxidizing agent, which is the cryogenic liquid, also flows into the motor housing 14 of the first propellant supply device (16A) and the superconducting motor 13 After performing the role of the refrigerant for the second propellant supply device, the circulation 17A flowing back into the main flow path 15 may be performed. At this time, the fuel, which is not a cryogenic liquid, will not flow into the motor housing 14 on the first propellant supply device, but must be directly supplied to the combustion chamber through the main flow path 15, and in some cases, other fuels for cooling the motor You may need more refrigerant.

As above, the propellant supply device 1 continuously supplies cryogenic propellant from the inner space of the main passage 15 and the motor housing 14 through the first propellant conveying passage 16 and the second propellant conveying passage 17. So that the motor 13 can be cooled.

The propellant supplying device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention described above supplies the propellant flowing in the housing 10 and the main flow path 15 to the motor housing 14, so that the superconducting motor 13 Can be cooled to exhibit superconductivity.

In addition, since the propellant supply device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a motor 13 having superconductivity, it is advantageous in that it can maintain a high output and improve efficiency compared to using a conventional motor. There is this.

Hereinafter, a propulsion system for a liquid rocket including the propellant supply device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

4 is a view showing a propulsion system of a liquid rocket including a propellant supply device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the liquid rocket propulsion system may include a propellant supply device 1, a propellant storage tank 2, and a combustion device 3. For reference, since the fuel and the oxidizing agent constituting the propellant are stored in separate storage tanks, each flows into a corresponding propellant supply device, and then can be discharged to a single combustion device, FIG. 4 is shown assuming such a case. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the process of one side will be mainly described.

The motor 13 of the propellant supply device 1 includes a superconducting coil, and the cryogenic propellant may act as a refrigerant in the superconducting coil.

The propellant storage tank 2 is for storing propellant. There are two propellant storage tanks 2, one of which may store fuel and the other may store an oxidizing agent. The propellant from the propellant storage tank 2 can be supplied to the combustion device 3 by pumping the propellant supply device 1.

The combustion device 3 may include an injector, an ignition device, a combustion chamber, and a nozzle. The injector is to atomize the propellant and inject it into the combustion chamber homogeneously, the ignition device is a device to cause the combustion reaction of the atomized propellant (fuel and oxidant) by the injector, and the combustion chamber is to form an internal space in which the propellant is burned. And the nozzle is for converting the gas generated by combustion into kinetic energy by accelerating it.

The liquid rocket propulsion system described above has an advantage that the motor 13 of the propellant supply device 1 has superconductivity and uses a cryogenic propellant, so that propulsion is possible with high power and high efficiency.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to make various modifications and variations without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention, but to explain the technical idea, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted by the claims below, and all technical ideas within the scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

1: propellant supply device
2: propellant storage tank
3: combustion device
10: housing
10A: Volute
11: impeller
12: Inducer
13: Superconducting motor
14: motor housing
15: main euro
16: first transfer flow path
17: second transfer flow path
101: propellant inflow channel
131: motor shaft
132: bearing

Claims (8)

In the liquid rocket engine propellant supply device,
A housing into which the propellant is introduced;
An impeller disposed in the inner space of the housing;
A superconducting motor capable of maintaining a superconducting state by rotating the shaft to which the impeller is connected but including a superconducting coil;
A motor housing in which the superconducting motor is accommodated;
A main flow passage having one end connected to the housing and the other end connected to a combustion chamber of the liquid rocket engine, and a passage through which the propellant in the housing is discharged to the combustion chamber of the liquid rocket engine;
A first propellant formed as the housing or main flow path and the inner space of the motor housing communicate with each other, and which is a passage through which the propellant flows into the inner space of the motor housing for cooling the superconducting motor Transfer passage; And
And a second propellant conveying passage which is a passage through which the propellant flowing in the inner space of the motor housing and cooling the motor is discharged into the main passage,
The propellant is a cryogenic liquid state and flows in the inner space of the motor housing and cools the superconducting coil to a predetermined temperature or lower so that the heated superconducting coil of the superconducting motor maintains the superconducting state,
The propellant used for cooling the superconducting coil is rejoined into the main flow channel through the second propellant transfer channel,
The first propellant conveying passage is formed on the upstream side of the main passage closer to the impeller than the second propellant conveying passage formed on the downstream side of the main passage, a propellant supplying device for a liquid rocket engine. The method of claim 1,
When the propellant inside the housing and the motor housing are the same medium, the airtight coupling between the motor housing and the housing can be eliminated, a propellant supply device for a liquid rocket engine. The method of claim 2,
The housing includes a propellant inlet passage through which one end is opened and the propellant is introduced into the inner space,
The propellant supplying device of a liquid rocket engine, wherein the propellant introduced into the inner space of the housing through the propellant inflow passage is introduced into the inner space of the motor housing or the main passage. The method of claim 1,
The propellant supplying device of a liquid rocket engine comprising liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen or liquid methane. The method of claim 1,
The impeller is rotated by being coupled to the shaft of the superconducting motor,
Doedoe disposed in the inside of the propellant inlet flow path, comprising an inducer coupled to the shaft of the superconducting motor, the propellant supply device of the liquid rocket engine. The method of claim 1,
A battery for generating and supplying driving power of the superconducting motor rotating the shaft based on the propellant;
Consisting of including, a propellant supply device for a liquid rocket engine. A propellant supply device for a liquid rocket engine according to any one of claims 1 to 6;
At least one propellant storage tank for storing the propellant supplied to the propellant supply device; And
A liquid rocket engine propulsion system comprising a combustion device that receives and burns a propellant from the propellant supply device. delete

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