Electric Pump-fed Engine

Name: Parth Joshi

Registration no.:
Version number: 1.0
Task No.: 1
Task Date: 6/12/2022
Review date: 11/12/2022
Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 1
Electric Pump-fed Engine
Name: Parth Joshi
Registration no.:
Version number: 1.0
Task No.: 1
Task Date: 6/12/2022
Review date: 11/12/2022
Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 1
 INDEX
1. Scope
2. Objective
3. Work Done
4. Results
5. Conclusions
6. References

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 2

 SCOPE
1.Types of Engines

2.Types of Cycles

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 3

 OBJECTIVE
To study the working of electric pump-fed engine

To study different cycles involved in pump-fed engine

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 4

 1.1 MONOPROPELLANT PRESSURE FED ENGINE

A monopropellant pressure-fed engine, or (for short) monoprop pressure-fed engine, is

very similar to a cold gas thruster. The engine still has one tank filled with high-pressure
inert gas. However, in addition, there is also a low-pressure tank with propellant, often
hydrazine.

Monoprop engines open the valve from the propellant tank to the engine, while
maintaining the pressure inside the propellant tank. They also modulate another valve
between the high-pressure tank and the propellant tank.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 5

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 6
 1.2 BIPROPELLANT PRESSURE FED ENGINE
Bipropellant pressure-fed engines, (or for short, biprop) pressure-fed engines, are basically
the same as monoprop engines. The difference is, as the name already suggests, a pair of
both fuel and pressurant tanks. One set stores the fuel, while the other one stores the
oxidizer.

The difference to monoprop engines is that these engines can use more energetic and
efficient propellants. Examples of such are RP-1 and LOx, or even CH4 and LOx.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 7

Most bipropellant systems will utilize hypergolic propellants for their simplicity.
Hypergolic propellants are propellants that spontaneously combust upon contact with each
other. Any system using hypergolics is extremely simple and reliable since it requires no
ignition source. Such a system still offers decent performance.

A problem here is the overall pressure in the system, meaning that the pressurant tanks are
still the limiting factor. This is similar to what we saw with with cold gas thrusters and
monopropellant pressure-fed engines. There is a trade-off where increasing pressure in the
system increases weight. Too much additional weight ends up taking away more payload
capacity than the increase in performance would add to it.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 8

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 9
 1.3 ELECTRIC PUMP-FED ENGINE
We can use a pump to increase the pressure after the pump, without affecting the pressure
before the pump. This is good news for rockets. So a pressure-fed engine might need a
tank pressure of 30 bar. An equivalent pump-fed engine might only need a tank pressure of
only 3 bar. This saves an enormous amount of mass for the tank. We almost certainly save
more mass than we gain for the pump and related items. We can drive pumps using any
source of energy, in principle. Right now we are considering electric motors driven by
battery storage.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 10

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 11
 2.1 OPEN CYCLE
Battery energy density is lower than hydrocarbon energy density, for the right type of fuel.
So it is possible to burn some of the propellant in a smaller combustion chamber,
generating exhaust gases. We can pass these exhaust gasses over the turbine that spins the
pump, to generate the required power.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 12

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 13
 2.2 CLOSED ENGINE CYCLE
The closed, or staged-combustion, cycle is a more highly developed approach to try to
make use of the combustion products that are dumped overboard on the open cycle.

Instead of passing all this exhaust from the gas generator to the combustion chamber, we
need to make some changes. The first change is that, instead of using a small amount of
fuel and oxidizer to power the gas generator, the engine will pump either ALL of the fuel
or the oxidizer through the gas generator and over the turbine.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 14

Due to this change in propellant routing, the terminology also changes. We no longer refer
to the initial combustion chamber as a gas generator; instead we refer to it as a preburner.

Propellant passes completely through the preburner and past the turbine, which defines the
type of closed cycle design. In other words, the design is either fuel-rich or oxidizer-rich.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 15

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 16
2.3 DUAL SHAFT CLOSED CYCLE ROCKET ENGINE

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 17

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 18
2.3 FULL-FLOW STAGED COMBUSTION ENGINE CYCLE

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 19

2.4 TAP OFF CYCLE

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 20

 DISADVANTAGES OF TAP OFF CYCLE
The disadvantage of this cycle is that the main combustion chamber gets extremely hot.
The cycle design has no moving parts and usually uses regeneratively cooling, with fuel
running through the walls. So the main combustion chamber can experience temperatures
as high as 3500 K. This is far too hot for any turbine to withstand.

In order to get around this issue, engineers will sometimes arrange to dilute the tap-off gas
before it reaches the turbine. They usually do this by adding in some fuel that helps to
reduce the temperature by making the exhaust more fuel-rich. This is similar to how a
typical gas generator functions.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 21

2.5 EXPANDER ENGINE

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 22

2.6 EXPANDER BLEED CYCLE

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 23

 RESULTS
Comparing the Rutherford engine (Electric pump fed engine made by rocket labs)
with the traditional rocket engines. Rutherford cuts down much of the complex
turbo machinery and plumbing typically required for gas generator cycle engines
and is simpler to build than conventional engine. The electric pump fed system
eliminates the need for extra valves and tubes which adds weight to the engine and
are frequently the source of engine failure. In a traditional engine, the pre-burner
combustion must be timed with engine operation, but the Rutherford engine follows
a radically different approach, where using brushless dc motors and lithium battery
cells eliminate this thermodynamic problem. In the past the energy density if the
batteries was too low in the past, but there have been enormous advancements in
the battery technology in recent years that has allowed Rocket Labs to go for
electric turbo pumps. 24
Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd.
Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 25
 CONCLUSION
It is claimed that electric motors improve efficiency from fifty percent of the standard
gas generator cycle to ninety five percent however the battery pack raises the weight of
the complete engine and poses an energy conversion challenge.
Electric pump-fed liquid propellant rocket engine is more suitable for the
commercial satellite launch field due to simple and reliable structure, short
R&D cycle, low manufacturing cost, and flexible thrust adjustment, compared with
the turbopump-fed rocket engine.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 26

 REFERENCES
1. https://tinyurl.com/3m3nasrp
2. https://everydayastronaut.com/rocket-engine-cycles/
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDZXNvPh5EE

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 27

 INDEX
1. Scope
2. Objective
3. Work Done
4. Results
5. Conclusions
6. References

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 2

 SCOPE
1.Types of Engines

2.Types of Cycles

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 3

 OBJECTIVE
To study the working of electric pump-fed engine

To study different cycles involved in pump-fed engine

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 4

 1.1 MONOPROPELLANT PRESSURE FED ENGINE

A monopropellant pressure-fed engine, or (for short) monoprop pressure-fed engine, is

very similar to a cold gas thruster. The engine still has one tank filled with high-pressure
inert gas. However, in addition, there is also a low-pressure tank with propellant, often
hydrazine.

Monoprop engines open the valve from the propellant tank to the engine, while
maintaining the pressure inside the propellant tank. They also modulate another valve
between the high-pressure tank and the propellant tank.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 5

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 6
 1.2 BIPROPELLANT PRESSURE FED ENGINE
Bipropellant pressure-fed engines, (or for short, biprop) pressure-fed engines, are basically
the same as monoprop engines. The difference is, as the name already suggests, a pair of
both fuel and pressurant tanks. One set stores the fuel, while the other one stores the
oxidizer.

The difference to monoprop engines is that these engines can use more energetic and
efficient propellants. Examples of such are RP-1 and LOx, or even CH4 and LOx.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 7

Most bipropellant systems will utilize hypergolic propellants for their simplicity.
Hypergolic propellants are propellants that spontaneously combust upon contact with each
other. Any system using hypergolics is extremely simple and reliable since it requires no
ignition source. Such a system still offers decent performance.

A problem here is the overall pressure in the system, meaning that the pressurant tanks are
still the limiting factor. This is similar to what we saw with with cold gas thrusters and
monopropellant pressure-fed engines. There is a trade-off where increasing pressure in the
system increases weight. Too much additional weight ends up taking away more payload
capacity than the increase in performance would add to it.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 8

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 9
 1.3 ELECTRIC PUMP-FED ENGINE
We can use a pump to increase the pressure after the pump, without affecting the pressure
before the pump. This is good news for rockets. So a pressure-fed engine might need a
tank pressure of 30 bar. An equivalent pump-fed engine might only need a tank pressure of
only 3 bar. This saves an enormous amount of mass for the tank. We almost certainly save
more mass than we gain for the pump and related items. We can drive pumps using any
source of energy, in principle. Right now we are considering electric motors driven by
battery storage.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 10

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 11
 2.1 OPEN CYCLE
Battery energy density is lower than hydrocarbon energy density, for the right type of fuel.
So it is possible to burn some of the propellant in a smaller combustion chamber,
generating exhaust gases. We can pass these exhaust gasses over the turbine that spins the
pump, to generate the required power.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 12

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 13
 2.2 CLOSED ENGINE CYCLE
The closed, or staged-combustion, cycle is a more highly developed approach to try to
make use of the combustion products that are dumped overboard on the open cycle.

Instead of passing all this exhaust from the gas generator to the combustion chamber, we
need to make some changes. The first change is that, instead of using a small amount of
fuel and oxidizer to power the gas generator, the engine will pump either ALL of the fuel
or the oxidizer through the gas generator and over the turbine.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 14

Due to this change in propellant routing, the terminology also changes. We no longer refer
to the initial combustion chamber as a gas generator; instead we refer to it as a preburner.

Propellant passes completely through the preburner and past the turbine, which defines the
type of closed cycle design. In other words, the design is either fuel-rich or oxidizer-rich.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 15

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 16
2.3 DUAL SHAFT CLOSED CYCLE ROCKET ENGINE

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 17

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 18
2.3 FULL-FLOW STAGED COMBUSTION ENGINE CYCLE

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 19

2.4 TAP OFF CYCLE

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 20

 DISADVANTAGES OF TAP OFF CYCLE
The disadvantage of this cycle is that the main combustion chamber gets extremely hot.
The cycle design has no moving parts and usually uses regeneratively cooling, with fuel
running through the walls. So the main combustion chamber can experience temperatures
as high as 3500 K. This is far too hot for any turbine to withstand.

In order to get around this issue, engineers will sometimes arrange to dilute the tap-off gas
before it reaches the turbine. They usually do this by adding in some fuel that helps to
reduce the temperature by making the exhaust more fuel-rich. This is similar to how a
typical gas generator functions.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 21

2.5 EXPANDER ENGINE

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 22

2.6 EXPANDER BLEED CYCLE

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 23

 RESULTS
Comparing the Rutherford engine (Electric pump fed engine made by rocket labs)
with the traditional rocket engines. Rutherford cuts down much of the complex
turbo machinery and plumbing typically required for gas generator cycle engines
and is simpler to build than conventional engine. The electric pump fed system
eliminates the need for extra valves and tubes which adds weight to the engine and
are frequently the source of engine failure. In a traditional engine, the pre-burner
combustion must be timed with engine operation, but the Rutherford engine follows
a radically different approach, where using brushless dc motors and lithium battery
cells eliminate this thermodynamic problem. In the past the energy density if the
batteries was too low in the past, but there have been enormous advancements in
the battery technology in recent years that has allowed Rocket Labs to go for
electric turbo pumps. 24
Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd.
Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 25
 CONCLUSION
It is claimed that electric motors improve efficiency from fifty percent of the standard
gas generator cycle to ninety five percent however the battery pack raises the weight of
the complete engine and poses an energy conversion challenge.
Electric pump-fed liquid propellant rocket engine is more suitable for the
commercial satellite launch field due to simple and reliable structure, short
R&D cycle, low manufacturing cost, and flexible thrust adjustment, compared with
the turbopump-fed rocket engine.

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 26

 REFERENCES
1. https://tinyurl.com/3m3nasrp
2. https://everydayastronaut.com/rocket-engine-cycles/
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDZXNvPh5EE

Omspace Rocket and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. 27