Development and Design of a LOX/LNG Thrust Chamber by using Computer-Aided Optimization Methods

Kurzfassung

The regenerative cooling still is one of the most crucial parts in designing a liquid rocket engine. The goal of an effective design is a trade-off between a sufficient cooling of the structure and a low pressure drop in the cooling channels. For an expander type cycle a third requirement arises: A sufficient enthalpy increase of the cooling fluid for the turbopumps to operate effectively. To prevent the combustion chamber from melting, the regenerative cooling has to be designed with a sufficient margin to respect all uncertainties. In this paper, the design of the regenerative cooling system will be described. A numerical method is used to optimize CFD simulations in order to reach all goals.