PIEZO-RESONANCE IGNITER AND IGNITION METHOD FOR PROPELLANT LIQUID ROCKET ENGINE
First Claim
1. An ignition system for a combustor comprising:
- a resonance system;
a piezoelectric system driven by said resonance system; and
an igniter powered by said piezoelectric system.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An ignition system for a rocket engine utilizes the pressure energy in a propellant flow. The propellant flow generates an oscillating pressure force in a resonance system which is then transmitted to a piezoelectric system. The electrical pulses are utilized to generate a spark in an igniter system spark gap, resulting in ignition. Since the spark energy production is driven by the resonance of the propellant flow, a fully passive auto-ignition system is provided. Once ignition occurs, the resultant backpressure in the combustion chamber “detunes” the resonance phenomena and spark production stops. Furthermore, should the engine flame out, spark production would automatically resume as the propellant valves remain open thereby providing relight capability.
87 Citations
38 Claims
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1. An ignition system for a combustor comprising:
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a resonance system; a piezoelectric system driven by said resonance system; and an igniter powered by said piezoelectric system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 26, 27, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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17. A combustor device comprising:
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a combustor; a working fluid system in communication with said combustor; a resonance system in communication with said working fluid system; a piezoelectric system driven by said resonance system; and an igniter system powered by said piezoelectric system to ignite a working fluid from said working fluid system. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29, 30)
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23. A method of igniting a combustion device comprising the steps of:
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(A) communicating a working fluid to a resonance system to generate a resonance; (B) driving a piezoelectric system with the resonance generated in said step (A); and (C) powering an igniter with the piezoelectric system. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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Specification