Abstract A liquid-propellant rocket motor will force a fuel and an oxidiser into a combustion chamber to react energetically and produce hot gas which yields thrust by expanding and accelerating in a nozzle. High performance requires that the combustion occur at high pressure, which in turn requires that the propellants are either pumped in or forced in by yet higher pressure in the propellant tanks. In most cases, launch vehicles pump their propellants. Spacecraft use a pressure-fed system that uses a (usually inert) pressurant gas that is either maintained at a constant pressure in the propellant tank by a regulator, or introduced while allowing its pressure to decrease as the propellant is expelled and the pressurant volume increases; this is known as the ‘blowdown’ mode. As the propellant flows through a series of valves and filters, it may be exposed to various temperatures (possibly causing changes in its properties, such as viscosity), and dynamic effects may occur, such as slosh in the propellant tank or water hammer in the pipes.


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    Title :

    Propulsion system failures


    Contributors:


    Publication date :

    2005-01-01


    Size :

    29 pages




    Type of media :

    Article/Chapter (Book)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English