6.

A Conceptual System Design Study for a Linear Aerospike

Engine Applied to a Future SSTO Vehicle

ABSTRACT

For application to a reference single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle, a conceptual study of an

aerospike engine was conducted. The aerospike engine employs an expander-bleed cycle.
Resulting thrust at sea-level was about 1300 kN, and resulting specific impulse in a vacuum was
more than 455 sec. Thrust and specific impulse satisfy the requirements of the vehicle. Based on
these engine-cycle analyses, engine weight analyses were conducted. The estimated thrust-to-
weight ratio was less than 35, which cannot satisfy the required value of 45 of the vehicle. Use of
lightweight materials was investigated. By changing materials, aerospike engine weight was
significantly reduced. The achieved thrust-to-weight ratio was about 50. The resulting aerospike
engine sufficiently satisfied all the requirements of the vehicle.

Keywords: Aerospike engine; SSTO, System design, Expander-bleed-cycle, Conceptual

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6.1 Introduction

For the next generation of reusable space transportation vehicles, a conceptual study of a
single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle has been underway at JAXA. To realize the vehicle, an
altitude compensating engine is required because of its promising high performance from low
altitude to space. The aerospike engine is a potential candidate for the vehicle’s engine. The SSTO
vehicle with an aerospike engine was studied in the 1990s’ in the United States as the X-33
program and the conceptual vehicle “Venture Star.” Their engines, XRS-2200 and RS-2200, were
aerospike engines which employed the gas-generator cycle. An aerospike engine is composed of
an aerospike nozzle, many small thrusters and turbo-pumps. As the engine utilizes the whole
vehicle base area as a nozzle, it has an extremely large expansion ratio. This large expansion ratio
enables high specific impulse in a vacuum. Additionally, the aerospike engine can provide high
thrust at sea level due to altitude compensation ability. It is widely known that a secondary
injection at the base of the aerospike nozzle results in increased thrust. Generally, the obstacles
inherent in aerospike engines are their weight and the problem of cooling.
In the present study, the feasibility of an aerospike engine which employs an expander-bleed
cycle was investigated. The expander-bleed cycle is a heat-absorption cycle which is employed for
the LE-5A and the LE-5B engines. Turbo-pumps are driven by the heat energy obtained by thrust
chamber cooling. This driving gas is finally bled outside of the engine. Although this bled gas de-
creases specific impulse for the general engine, it can be used for secondary injection for the
aerospike engine, and can thus increase the specific impulse. The expander-bleed cycle can provide
higher combustion chamber pressure than the ordinary expander cycle and can be utilized for
booster engines. However, it requires an extraordinarily large heat-absorption area. The aerospike
engine can provide this large heat-absorption area by many small thrusters and the aerospike nozzle
surface. Therefore, qualitatively, disadvantages of the expander-bleed cycle engine can be changed
to advantages by utilizing the aerospike engine, and vice versa.
In this paper, the result of cycle analyses to investigate the feasibility of a reference aerospike
engine is discussed. The weight of the aerospike engine system is also discussed.

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6.2 Reference SSTO vehicle and reference aerospike engine

6.2.1 Reference SSTO vehicle

Figure 6.1 shows an image of the reference SSTO vehicle. This vehicle can carry 10,000 kg
of payload into LEO orbit. To reduce vehicle weight, a blended-lifting-body configuration and
cylinder propellant tank are adopted. The dry weight and the total weight of the vehicle are
estimated to be 50,000 kg and 500,000 kg, respectively.

Fig. 6.1. Figure of reference SSTO vehicle

6.2.2 Requirements for main engine

Requirements for the main engine for lift-off of this vehicle are summarized in Table 6.1.
Propellants are liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, with a engine mixture ratio of 5.9. Minimum
thrust at sea-level is 7,000 kN and the averaged specific impulse, Isp, during the trajectory is at
least 440 sec. Required minimum weight is 15,839 kg, the thrust-to-weight ratio is about 45. The
averaged Isp depends on the trajectory of the transportation system; therefore, targeted Isp was set
at 450 in this study.

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 Table 6.1. Requirement to main engine

6.2.3 Reference aerospike engine

The following reference engine is a point of departure for engine system analysis and its
optimization. In this study the required thrust was produced by six aerospike engine segments.
Figure 6.2 shows an image of a single aerospike engine segment. The segment is composed of a
truncated aerospike nozzle, small thrusters, a pair of propellant turbo-pumps valves, and pipe
works. The small thruster is termed a cell. Ten cells are distributed on both sides of the engine.

Fig. 6.2. Image of the single segment of the aerospike engine

The segment area attached to the vehicle is 2.7 m by 5 m, and the aerospike nozzle length is
3 m, which is 25% of the full-spike nozzle length. The cell has a circular throat 70 mm in diameter,
and a square-shaped exit 369 mm by 369 mm. The combustion pressure in the cell is 10 MPa and
its mixture ratio is 6.5. Figure 6.3 shows an ideal thrust and Isp profile as a function of altitude.

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 Fig. 6.3. Ideal thrust and Isp profile of the aerospike engine as a function of altitude

Table 6.2. Dimensional data of one segment Table 6.3. Dimensional data and specifications of a cell

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6.3 Engine cycle analysis

6.3.1 Procedure of analysis

Figure 6.4 shows a schematic of the engine-cycle which was employed in this study. Cells
were cooled by the total amount of fuel. A part of the fuel was tapped off after cooling of the cells.
The rest of the fuel was led to the injector of each cell. The tapped-off fuel was used for cooling
of the aerospike nozzle. Most of the fuel after cooling of the aerospike nozzle was used to drive
the turbines.
Thrust performance was predicted by the following Eq. 1,

𝑃𝐸𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑃 ∫ 𝑃𝑤 ×𝑊 𝑑𝑦 𝑃𝑏 𝑃𝑔
Ctotal = 𝜂CFcell × (CFMcell × cos𝜃cell + 𝜀 cell× × cos𝜃cell) + 𝑃02 × + 𝜀𝐵 × 𝑃 +𝑃
𝑃𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙 01 𝑃𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙 ×𝐴𝑡 𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙
𝐴𝑔 𝑃𝑎
× × cos𝜃cell - 𝜀𝐸 …..(1)
𝐴𝑡 𝑃𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙

Fig. 6.4. Schematic of the engine-cycle

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 Fig. 6.5. Mach number distribution at the sea-level condition obtained by CFD analysis

Pressure distribution on the spike nozzle wall was obtained by computational fluid dynamics
(CFD). Figure 6.5 shows the Mach number distribution at a sea-level condition which was obtained
by CFD. The effect of base bleed was not taken into account.
The same efficiencies of turbo-pumps were utilized as in the LE-X engine [2], which is almost
the same thrust level engine employing the expander-bleed cycle. Combustion chamber cooling
analysis was conducted using a quasi-one-dimensional calculation tool which had been sufficiently
proven. Hot-gas side heat flux in the combustion chamber was estimated by the equation proposed
by Bartz [3]. Hot-gas side heat flux on the aerospike nozzle changed depending on the flow feature
on the aerospike nozzle, namely, depending on altitude. This heat flux was obtained by an
estimated hot-gas temperature distribution and an estimated heat transfer rate distribution on the
aerospike nozzle surface. This hot-gas temperature and the heat transfer rate were related to static
pressure, and polynomial equations were composed. This static pressure was obtained by CFD.
Restrictions were set as follows; the combustion chamber wall temperature should be less
than 700 K, the aerospike nozzle wall temperature should be less than 800 K, and the inlet
temperature of the turbine of the fuel-turbo-pump should be less than 700 K.
Engine cycle analyses were conducted at a sea-level condition, a vacuum condition and a
throttled condition of 50% of thrust. The throttle condition was analyzed because in vacuum,
namely, in high altitude, large thrust achieved by altitude compensation might produce excessive
acceleration.

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6.3.2 Results and discussion

Figure 6.6 shows a typical result of engine-cycle analyses in the vacuum condition. Table 6.4
summarizes the important results of the engine-cycle analyses.
At sea-level condition, a segment of the aerospike engine produced 1316 kN of thrust, which
was larger than 1/6 of 7,000 kN of the required thrust of total engine. Resulting mixture ratio was
8.27 because cooling of the aerospike nozzle required a great amount of fuel. The maximum wall
temperature both at the combustor and at the aerospike nozzle were less than restricted
temperatures of 700 K and 800 K, respectively

Fig. 6.6. Results of engine cycle analysis in vacuum condition

Under vacuum condition, thrust increased up to 1521 kN. Achieved Isp was 457 sec, which is
sufficiently high compared with the requirement. The mixture ratio was 7.27. The causes of the
increase of Isp were as follows. Thrust was increased due to altitude compensation. Bleed amount,
namely, the amount of coolant of aerospike nozzle, was decreased in comparison with the case of
the sea-level condition due to decrease of heat flux on the aerospike nozzle. The C* was increased
due to the decrease of mixture ratio because the amount of fuel as coolant of the aerospike nozzle
decreased and the rest of the fuel was supplied to the cell.

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 Table 6.4. Results of engine cycle analysis

At the throttled condition, Isp increased to 462 sec. The mechanism to increase the Isp is the
same as in the case of the vacuum. Maximum wall temperatures in the combustor and on the
aerospike nozzle were significantly low. These low temperatures could extend the life of the
combustor and the aerospike nozzle.
Results of the engine-cycle analyses satisfied the requirements of the vehicle.

6.3.3 Alternative engine design

Resulting vacuum Isp was greatly influenced by the amount of coolant of the aerospike nozzle.
Therefore, engine-cycle analyses for the shortened aerospike nozzle were conducted. Figure 6.7(a)
shows a surface pressure distribution on the aerospike nozzle at sea-level condition and Fig 6.7(b)
shows the distribution in the vacuum condition obtained by CFD. In Fig 6.7(a), surface wall
pressure was almost the same as the atmospheric pressure between the location of 20% length and
that of 25% length. Table 6.5 shows the results of engine-cycle analyses for the 20% length
aerospike nozzle case.

Table 6.5. Results of engine-cycle analyses for shortened aerospike nozzle

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 (a) At sea-level

(b) In vacuum

Fig. 6.7. Surface pressure distribution on the aerospike nozzle obtained by CFD

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6.4 Engine weight analysis

6.4.1 Estimation procedure

Figure 6.8 shows the engine layout of the 25%-length aerospike engine. The aerospike nozzle weight
was estimated based on FEM analysis. Material of the aerospike nozzle was OMC, the copper alloy which
was used for LE-7A combustion chamber. Material of support struts, rods and ribs were A286. Weights of
valves were estimated based on the valve resistance. Weights of cell combustors and turbo-pumps were
estimated by a model proven by the LE-7A.

Fig. 6.8. Engine layout image of the 25% length aerospike engine

6.4.2 Results and discussion

Figure 6.9 shows total weights of 25%-length and 20%-length aerospike engine segments with
summation of weights of components. The total weight of the 25%-length aerospike engine
segment was about 4,600 kg and that of the 20%-length aerospike engine segment was about 4,300
kg. The heaviest components were the aerospike nozzle and the support ribs. About the half of the
total weight was occupied by these two components.
Figure 6.10 shows thrust-to-weight ratio of conventional Japanese engines and aerospike
engines as a function of vacuum thrust. Three aerospike engines had nearly the same thrust-to-
weight ratios and those were less than those of the conventional engines. The thrust-to-weight

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ratio values of aerospike engines could not satisfy the requirements of the vehicle. Therefore, a
lightweight effort was needed.

Fig. 6.9. Engine components weights and total weights of 25%-length and 20%-length aerospike
nozzles

Fig. 6.10. Vacuum thrust and thrust by weight ratio of conventional

Japanese engines and aerospike engines

6.4.3 Lightweight solution of aerospike nozzle

The surface of the aerospike nozzle is heated by combustion gas. Therefore, it must be cooled
sufficiently. Figure 6.11 shows the maximum wall temperature of the aerospike nozzle as a
function of heat conductivity for the cases of wall thickness of 0.8 mm and 2.0 mm. This figure
was obtained by engine-cycle analyses. With decreasing heat conductivity, the maximum wall
temperature was increased. In Fig 6.12, data of several lightweight materials are plotted compared
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with the result of Fig 6.11. SiC/SiC composite material was selected as candidate because it
seemed to have good heat-resistant characteristics. Table 6.6 shows a result of engine-cycle
analysis for the 20%-length aerospike nozzle employing SiC/SiC composite. Although the
maximum wall temperatures of each condition were very high, they were less than the maximum
allowable temperature of the SiC/SiC composite. Due to the decrease of the coolant mass flow
rate, Isp was increased for all the conditions. The vacuum Isp was 460 sec and that of the throttled
condition was 468 sec. The weight of the aerospike nozzle was reduced from 965 kg to 683 kg.

Fig. 6.11. Maximum wall temperature of aerospike nozzle as a function of heat conductivity

Fig. 6.12. Comparison of maximum wall temperature of aerospike nozzle and several materials maximum
allowable temperature as a function of heat conductivity

For utilizing SiC/SiC composite, some problems must be resolved, for example, machining
of cooling channels, bonding close-out of the cooling channels, bonding to the other parts, and so
on.

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6.4.4 Lightweight solution of ribs and other support-components

Figure 6.13 shows strength-to-weight ratios of representative materials. It is obvious that the CFRP
has the largest strength-to-weight ratio. When the materials of the ribs and other support-
components are changed from A286 to this CFRP based on the required strength, the weight is
significantly decreased from 1226 kg to 123 kg.

6.4.5 Effect of lightweight solutions

Fig. 6.13. Strength-to-weight ratios of some representative materials

Table 6.6. Results of engine-cycle analyses for 20%-length lightweight aerospike nozzle

Figure 6.14 shows the total weight of the 20%-length lightweight aerospike engine which was
obtained by summation of weights of components, and it is compared with that of the 20%-length
aerospike engine. The total weight was decreased from 4326 kg to 2941 kg. After this application
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of lightweight materials, the thrust-to-weight ratio increased to more than 50, as shown in Fig 6.15.
This value is sufficiently greater than the required value, 45.
Figure 6.16 shows the vacuum Isp and thrust-to-weight ratio for the LE-7A engine, the LE-5B
engine and the resulting aerospike engine in this study, namely, the 20%-length lightweight
aerospike engine. The resulting aerospike engine produced an Isp about 3% larger than LE-5B
engine, which is used for the 2nd stage of the H-IIA vehicle, and its thrust-to-weight ratio was
almost the same as that of LE-5B. Table 6.7 summarizes the results of this conceptual study in
comparison with the required values shown in Table 6.1. Mixture ratio and the area are restrictions
of these analyses. All the requirements are sufficiently satisfied.

Fig. 6.14. Comparison of total engine weight before and after the lightweight effort

Table 6.7. Summary of the conceptual study with comparison of required specifications and the results of this
study

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 Fig. 6.15. Increase of thrust to weight ratio after the lightweight effort

Fig. 6.16. Vacuum Isp and thrust-to-weight ratio for the LE-7A engine, the
LE-5B engine and the 25%-length lightweight aerospike engine

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6.5 Conclusion

For application to a reference single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle, conceptual study of an

aerospike engine was conducted. The aerospike engine employed the expander-bleed cycle. The
main engine of the vehicle was composed of six aerospike engine segments. Firstly, engine cycle
analyses for the single segment of the aerospike engine were conducted, and two candidate engine
designs were compared. One had a 25%-length aerospike nozzle and the other had a 20%-length
aerospike nozzle.
Cell combustors could be cooled satisfactorily. The aerospike nozzle required a greater
amount of coolant fuel than the amount of turbine driving gas. By decreasing spike nozzle length,
the amount of coolant of the aerospike nozzle, which becomes the bled gas, was reduced.
Therefore, the mass flow rate supplied to the cell combustors increased, and thus the mixture ratio
in the combustor decreased. Reduction of bled gas and decrease of the mixture ratio in the
combustor increased the Isp. On the other hand, the decrease of the spike nozzle decreased Isp due
to the decrease of the pressurized surface which produced thrust.
Resulting Isp in a vacuum for both cases, the 20%-length and the 25%-length aerospike
engines, were more than 455 sec. Resulting thrusts at sea-level were about 1300 kN. Thrust and
Isp satisfy requirements of the vehicle.
Based on engine-cycle analyses, engine weight analyses were conducted. Estimated engine
weight for the 25%length aerospike engine was more than 4600 kg. The resulting thrust-to-weight
ratio was less than 35, which cannot satisfy the required value of 45 of the vehicle. The heaviest
components were the aerospike nozzle and support ribs. Lightweight solutions for those heaviest
components were investigated, and the material of the aerospike nozzle was changed from a copper
alloy to a SiC/SiC composite, and the material of the ribs and the other support stuffs were changed
from A286 to CFRP. As a result, aerospike engine weight was significantly reduced. The achieved
thrust-to-weight ratio was about 50.
The resulting aerospike engine sufficiently satisfied all the requirements of the vehicle. It
produced about a 3% larger Isp than LE-5B engine, which is used for the 2nd stage of the H-IIA
vehicle, and its thrust-to-weight ratio was almost the same as that of LE-5B.

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