Pintle injector tip with active cooling

• US 7,503,511 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2005
• Issued: 03/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation
• Inventors: Mueller, Thomas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Len
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOGAN, JAMES SEAN
• Application Number:
  US11/198,053
• Publication Number:
  US 20090007543A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,321 Days
• Field of Search: 239/399, 239/424, 239/425.5, 239/425, 239/426, 239/433, 239/434, 602/58, 602/59, 607/40, 607/32
• US Class Current: 239/424.5
• CPC Class Codes: F02K 9/52 Injectors
• CPC Class Codes: F23L 2900/07004 Injecting liquid or solid materials releasing oxygen, e.g. perchlorate, nitrate, peroxide, and chlorate compounds, or appropriate mixtures thereof
• CPC Class Codes: F23L 7/007 Supplying oxygen or oxygen-enriched air
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 20/34 Indirect CO2mitigation, i.e. by acting on non CO2directly related matters of the process, e.g. pre-heating or heat recovery

Abstract

A bi-propellant rocket engine may include a primary propellant flowing in a central passageway, a secondary propellant flowing in a secondary passageway generally coaxial with central passageway and a pintle tip having a central chamber sidewall coaxial with the primary passageway and surrounding a central chamber, the central chamber sidewall having a first plurality of apertures there through so that some of the primary propellant exits the central chamber transverse to the flow of the secondary propellant in the secondary passageway. The pintle tip may have a secondary chamber sidewall, substantially thicker than the primary chamber sidewall, surrounding a secondary chamber downstream of and in fluid communication with the primary chamber, the secondary chamber sidewall having a second plurality of apertures there through so that some of the primary propellant exits the secondary chamber transverse to the flow of the secondary propellant in the secondary passageway. The pintle tip may have an end wall generally traverse to the flow of the primary propellant in the central passageway and adjacent the secondary chamber sidewall so that the flow of primary propellant through the secondary chamber sidewall cools a downstream face of the end wall during combustion of the mixed propellants adjacent the downstream face of the end wall. The pintle tip may be used for mixing a first liquid with a second liquid.

Claims

1. A pintle tip comprising:

a central chamber having a first wall thickness and a first plurality of apertures there through so that a first portion of the first liquid exits the central chamber to mix with the second liquid at right angles therewith;

a secondary chamber downstream of the central chamber having a second wall thickness and a second plurality of apertures there through so that a second portion of the first liquid exits the central chamber to mix with the second liquid at right angles therewith; and

an end wall downstream of the secondary chamber having a non-ablative tip face adjacent combustion of the mixed first and second liquid propellants,

wherein the second wall thickness is greater than the first wall thickness so that the portion of the first liquid exiting through the second plurality of apertures cools the non-ablative tip face.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein the end wall has a third plurality of apertures there through so that a third portion of the first liquid exits the secondary chamber through the non-ablative tip face in parallel with the flow of the second liquid to mix therewith.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein the flow of the first liquid through the third plurality of apertures causes a zone of concentration of the first liquid downstream of the downstream face of the end wall.

4. The invention of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of apertures are generally rectangular in shape and the second plurality of apertures are generally circular in shape.