CRYOGENIC ROCKET

ENGINE

By :
Himanshu Chand
Mech Engg. VI sem
Roll No. 0709141014

Introduction

Acryogenicrocketengineisarocketenginethat
usesacryogenicfueloroxidizer,thatis,itsfuel
oroxidizeraregassesliquefiedandstoredatvery
lowtemperatures.

rocketenginesneedhighmassflowrateofboth
oxidizerandfueltogenerateasufficientthrust.

theliquidoxygen(LOX)oxidizerandliquid
hydrogen(LH2)fuelcombinationisoneofthe
mostwidelyused.

Brief history

SpacetravelwasmainlydevelopedbytheRussiansandthe
Americans.
TheRussianswerethefirsttoreachintospace.

Solid-fuelrocketengineswerethefirstenginescreatedbyman.

AllthecurrentRocketsrunonLiquid-propellantrockets.

Thefirstoperationalcryogenicrocketenginewasthe1961
NASAdesigntheRL-10LOXLH2rocketengine,whichwas
usedintheSaturn1rocketemployedintheearlystagesofthe
Apollomoonlandingprogram.

The first operational cryogenic engine

construction
Themajorcomponentsofacryogenicrocketengineare:

thethrustchamberorcombustionchamber
pyrotechnicigniter
fuelinjector
fuelturbo-pumps
gasturbine
cryovalves
Regulators
thefueltanks
rocketenginenozzle

Position of various parts in shuttle

Cryogenic propellent

Inacryogenicpropellantthefuelandtheoxidizerareinthe
formofverycold,liquefiedgases.

supercooledgasesusedasliquidfuelsarecalledcryogenic
fuelsastheystayinliquidformeventhoughtheyareata
temperaturelowerthanthefreezingpoint.

tostorethesepropellantsaboardarocketisaverydifficult
taskastheyhaveverylowdensities.

Thusbycoolingandcompressingthemintoliquids,wecan
vastlyincreasetheirdensityandmakeitpossibletostore
theminlargequantitiesinsmallertanks.

thepropellantcombinationusedisthatof
liquidoxygenandliquidhydrogen.

Liquidoxygenbeingtheoxidizerand
liquidhydrogenbeingthefuel.

Liquidoxygenboilsat297oFand
liquidhydrogenboilsat423oF.

Working of Cryogenic Propellants

specialinsulatedcontainersandventsareusedtoprevent
gasfromtheevaporatingliquidstoescape.

Theliquidfuelandoxidizerarefedfromthestoragetankto
anexpansionchamber.

Thenitisinjectedintothecombustionchamber.

Inthischamber,theyaremixedandignitedbyaflameor
spark.

Thefuelexpandsasitburnsandthehotexhaustgasesare
directedoutofthenozzletoprovidethrust.

Advantages :

HighEnergyperunitmass:

Propellantslikeoxygenandhydrogeninliquidformgivevery
highamountsofenergyperunitmassduetowhichtheamount
offueltobecarriedaboardtherocketsdecreases.

CleanFuels

Hydrogenandoxygenareextremelycleanfuels.Whenthey
combine,theygiveoutonlywater.Thiswateristhrownoutof
thenozzleinformofveryhotvapor.Thustherocketisnothing
butahighburningsteamengine

Economical
Useofoxygenandhydrogenasfuelsisvery
economical,asliquidoxygencostslessthangasoline.

Drawbacks:

BoiloffRate

Highlyreactivegases

Leakage

HydrogenEmbrittlement

ZeroGravityconditions

Why didn't the cryogenic engine of India

ignite?

TheGSLVD3,whichliftedoffwellfromSriharikotaonThursday,
April15,2010laterplungedintotheseaastheindigenous
cryogenicenginefailedtoignite.

Thevehicleliftedoffasplannedat4.27p.m.anditsperformance
wasnormaluptotheendofitssecondstagetill293secondsfrom
thelift-off.

AnauthoritativeformerISROofficialsaid:Itisveryclearthatthe
cryogenicenginedidnotignitewhenyoulookatthecurve[ofthe
vehicle'strajectory]

thevehicledevelopedproblemswhenthecryogenicupperstage
shouldhaveignited304secondsafterthelift-off,anditfellintothe
sea

The next generation of the

Rocket Engines

Allrocketenginesburntheirfueltogeneratethrust.Ifany
otherenginecangenerateenoughthrust,thatcanalsobe
usedasarocketengine

TherearealotofplansfornewenginesthattheNASA
scientistsarestillworkingwith.OneofthemistheXenonion
Engine.Thisengineaccelerateionsoratomicparticlesto
extremelyhighspeedstocreatethrustmoreefficiently.
NASA'sDeepSpace-1spacecraftwillbethefirsttouseion
enginesforpropulsion.

TherearesomealternativesolutionslikeNuclearthermal
rocketengines,Solarthermalrockets,theelectricrocketetc.

Wearelookingforwardthatinthenearfuturetherewillbe
somegoodtechnologytotakeusintospace

Thank you