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Old September 7th 09, 04:53 AM posted to sci.space.tech
Pat Flannery
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Default ROTON type engines and liquid monopropellants

Earl_Colby_Pottinger wrote:
I was just thinking about monopropellants. Most have low ISPs compare
to bi-propelleants but can be very dense. ie Peroxide/Alcohol mixes
for example.

Since ROTON type engines are self-pressuring, one can build a system
with very light weight tanks and high expansion ratio engines. Could
the mass ratios of such a design lead to a reasonable TSTO rocket?



Note that the ROTON engine never got built, so it's difficult to know
how practical the concept would have proved in reality.
Long time back the US played with a somewhat similar engine to power the
XP-79 rocket fighter (in this case the spinning combustion chambers
would shaft-drive the engine's fuel pump) and that never was made to
work correctly, so it was canceled.
Another problem with the ROTON engine could be how burning would behave
in the combustion chambers under the centrifugal force of their spinning
at high RPM.

Pat