"Earl Colby Pottinger" wrote in message
...
"Pete Lynn" :

I have been wondering about a turbo pump that consists of a rotary
sprinkler come Catherine wheel physically situated within the
combustion chamber. This should not inhibit regenerative cooling.
It is integral, self cooling, should improve mixing and combustion,
requires no secondary combustion or gas generation and is much
much lighter. In essence it is just a fancy self powering injector.

I am having problems figuring out what you mean in design. Could
you supply more details?

Going back to the rotary rocket engine concept, basically a rocket on
the end of a high speed rotating arm with the nozzle angled such that
the propellants become self pumping. One might miniaturize such a
rotary rocket, design it solely for propellant pumping, and place it
directly within the combustion chamber of a much larger rocket. This
might be considered as a liquid propellant Catherine wheel driving an
integral centrifugal pump.

Because the power required for pumping propellants is much much less
than that produced by the rocket at large, the miniature rocket nozzles
at the tips of the rotary sprinkler need provide very little thrust,
they only need sufficient power to replace that of a turbo pump turbine.
These miniature rocket engines might look like fancy flame holders on
the end of a centrifugal pump which produce a minimal level of net
thrust.

Obviously this internal Catherine wheel could also be used to power
external centrifugal pumps, (necessary for LH2, and perhaps serious LOX
regenerative cooling), hydraulics, etcetera. The physical size of this
Catherine wheel powered sprinkler might be smaller than a turbo pump
turbine, and not need all the shrouding, ducting, gasifying, etcetera.
Within acceptable tip speeds 100MPa would be possible, so there is some
room to move. Obviously LH2 would require external pumping stages.

Another variation on this theme is an impulse Pelton wheel type system
where the internal centrifugal pump has regeneratively cooled impulse
blades at the tip. Separate injector nozzles on the wall of the rocket
combustion chamber might be directed at this impulse turbine.

One of he general themes of this approach is that the turbo pump
turbine, with appropriate design, can be situated within the rocket
combustion chamber, side stepping the need for a number of secondary
systems.

Pete.