Claims
- 1. A liquid rocket engine that includes liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as the combustion agents comprising: a liquid oxygen turbopump including a first heat exchanger located in a turbine exit flow path of said liquid oxygen turbopump, a preburner for combining oxygen and hydrogen and creating a high pressure hydrogen rich gas to power said turbopump, said first heat exchanger being in indirect heat exchange with said high pressure hydrogen rich gas, a low pressure fuel turbopump, fluid connections for flowing low pressure hydrogen from upstream of a turbine of said low pressure fuel turbopump and admitting hydrogen into said turbine, an additional fluid connection for admitting liquid oxygen into a pump of said liquid oxygen turbopump, a by-pass line interconnecting said fluid connections for placing the hydrogen from upstream of said low pressure fuel turbopump in indirect heat exchange with said high pressure hydrogen rich gas in said first heat exchanger, an externally mounted second heat exchanger relative to said first heat exchanger placing the low pressure hydrogen from upstream of said low pressure fuel turbopump and discharging from said first heat exchanger in indirect heat exchange with liquid oxygen, a conduit for leading liquid oxygen to said second heat exchanger for gasifying said liquid oxygen prior to being admitted to said engine, and whereby the potential of using liquid oxygen and hydrogen in said first heat exchanger is avoided, thus providing a safer condition.
- 2. A liquid rocket engine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first heat exchanger includes coils surrounding the turbine of said liquid oxygen turbopump.
- 3. A liquid rocket engine as claimed in claim 2 wherein liquid oxygen discharging from the pump of said liquid oxygen turbopump is placed in indirect heat exchange with the hydrogen in said second heat exchanger.
- 4. A liquid rocket engine as claimed in claim 3 wherein said second heat exchanger includes coils for flowing hydrogen and second coils for flowing oxygen.
- 5. A liquid rocket engine as claimed in claim 4 including an oxidizer tank wherein said oxygen in said second coils is gasified and a flow line interconnecting said second coils and said oxidizer tank flows gasified oxygen to pressurize said tank.
- 6. A liquid rocket engine as claimed in claim 5 including a POGO circuit and a branch line interconnecting said flow line and said POGO circuit to inject gasified oxygen therein.
- 7. A liquid rocket engine as claimed in claim 6 wherein the hydrogen discharging from coils flows to a discharge of the turbine of said low pressure fuel turbopump.
Government Interests
This invention was made under a United States Government contract and the United States Government has an interest herein.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
3506826 |
Aug 1986 |
DEX |