Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100205933 | Regeneratively cooled porous media jacket - The fluid and heat transfer theory for regenerative cooling of a rocket combustion chamber with a porous media coolant jacket is presented. This model is used to design a regeneratively cooled rocket or other high temperature engine cooling jacket. Cooling jackets comprising impermeable inner and outer walls, and porous media channels are disclosed. Also disclosed are porous media coolant jackets with additional structures designed to transfer heat directly from the inner wall to the outer wall, and structures designed to direct movement of the coolant fluid from the inner wall to the outer wall. Methods of making such jackets are also disclosed. | 08-19-2010 |
20100275577 | ROCKET ENGINE INJECTORHEAD WITH FLASHBACK BARRIER - Propellants flow through specialized mechanical hardware that is designed for effective and safe ignition and sustained combustion of the propellants. By integrating a micro-fluidic porous media element between a propellant feed source and the combustion chamber, an effective and reliable propellant injector head may be implemented that is capable of withstanding transient combustion and detonation waves that commonly occur during an ignition event. The micro-fluidic porous media element is of specified porosity or porosity gradient selected to be appropriate for a given propellant. Additionally the propellant injector head design integrates a spark ignition mechanism that withstands extremely hot running conditions without noticeable spark mechanism degradation. | 11-04-2010 |
20110005194 | FLASHBACK SHUT-OFF - A flashback-arresting shut-off valve is disclosed herein. Propellant is moved from a propellant reservoir, through the shut-off valve in an open configuration to a point of combustion in a normal propellant flow direction. During a flashback, the propellant is ignited within the propellant line and substantial physical/thermal energy caused by the flashback travels in the direction opposite to the normal propellant flow direction back to the shut-off valve. A burst member within the shut-off valve fails because of the flashback. Failure of the burst member causes compression on a spring-loaded portion of the shut-off valve to be released, thereby closing the shut-off valve and sealing the propellant reservoir from the flashback. Failure of the burst member also causes one or more pressure relief outlets to open that direct the physical/thermal energy and/or un-combusted/combusted propellant out and away from the shut-off valve. | 01-13-2011 |
20110008739 | DETONATION WAVE ARRESTOR - An apparatus and system disclosed herein provides detonation wave arrestor including a detonation wave deflector and a burst element. The detonation wave arrestor disclosed herein attenuates and defects the propagation of a detonation wave characterized by a supersonic flame front propagation. The detonation wave arrestor provides deflection of detonation wave towards the burst element. The rupture of the burst element provides venting of hot gases remaining from the detonation, thus providing separation and attenuation of combusted gas residuals. The detonation wave arrestor disclosed herein may be used in a combustible fuel delivery system. | 01-13-2011 |
20110146231 | Tiered Porosity Flashback Suppressing Elements for Monopropellant or Pre-Mixed Bipropellant Systems - Monopropellant and pre-mixed bipropellant storage and supply systems for rocket engines and other work producing systems are subject to damage when detonation progresses upstream from a combustion chamber to and through supply lines. Interposing one or more micro porous or micro fluidic elements into the supply conduit can limit the flame front that accompanies such unintended detonation, but inevitably restrict the flow of the propellant to the combustion chamber. A tiered micro fluidic element where a bulk of the element has relatively large pores but forms a structurally robust supports a second, relatively thin region having appropriately small mean pore diameter provides an effective flashback barrier that can resist catastrophic failure during such detonations. Such elements can be used in isolation, or they can be incorporated into detonation wave arrestors or pressure wave-triggered cut-off valves or the like to decrease the incidence of unintended detonations. | 06-23-2011 |
20120279196 | MICROFLUIDIC FLAME BARRIER - Propellants flow through specialized mechanical hardware that is designed for effective and safe ignition and sustained combustion of the propellants. By integrating a micro-fluidic porous media element between a propellant feed source and the combustion chamber, an effective and reliable propellant injector head may be implemented that is capable of withstanding transient combustion and detonation waves that commonly occur during an ignition event. The micro-fluidic porous media element is of specified porosity or porosity gradient selected to be appropriate for a given propellant. Additionally the propellant injector head design integrates a spark ignition mechanism that withstands extremely hot running conditions without noticeable spark mechanism degradation. | 11-08-2012 |
20120279197 | NITROUS OXIDE FLAME BARRIER - Propellants flow through specialized mechanical hardware that is designed for effective and safe ignition and sustained combustion of the propellants. By integrating a micro-fluidic porous media element between a propellant feed source and the combustion chamber, an effective and reliable propellant injector head may be implemented that is capable of withstanding transient combustion and detonation waves that commonly occur during an ignition event. The micro-fluidic porous media element is of specified porosity or porosity gradient selected to be appropriate for a given propellant. Additionally the propellant injector head design integrates a spark ignition mechanism that withstands extremely hot running conditions without noticeable spark mechanism degradation. | 11-08-2012 |
20130276426 | Cooling Jacket with Porous Matrix - The fluids and heat transfer theory for regenerative cooling of a rocket combustion chamber with a porous media coolant jacket is presented. This model is useful for calculating temperature distributions in a coolant fluid and combustion chamber or heat source as well as the associated fluid pressure drop through the coolant jacket. This model for fluids and heat transfer theory can be used to design a regeneratively cooled rocket engine. | 10-24-2013 |