• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.105-112
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• 2013

Turbopump is typically an assembly of rotors and casings, and there are a number of joints between them. Every joint should be leak-proof, so there is always a seal to accomplish the goal. Among various seals, metal seals are advantageous in that they are robust at high pressure, and at wide range of temperature. In this study, flange joints using conical seal made of stainless steel, solid flat metal seal made of copper and metal C seal made of Inconel 718 were structurally designed and analyzed, considering both initial tightening and operating conditions.

• 유체기계공업학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.08a
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• pp.523-526
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• 2006

A series of hydraulic and cavitation tests are performed in water environment in order to verify the hydraulic and cavitation performance of three types of LOX pumps. All the performances of the pumps are found to be satisfied with each design requirement. In the hydraulic tests, the head and efficiency are increased as the gap between floating ring seals and the impeller shoulder is decreased. In the cavitation tests, some pumps show decrease in the cavitation performance as the flowrate of the pump is decreased.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.61-67
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• 2018

High-frequency signals are analyzed at the inlet/outlet pipeline and pump casing during cavitation tests of the LOx pump for liquid rocket engines. Root-mean square values of all data are investigated with respect to cavitation number. The values of synchronous, harmonic, and cavitation instability frequencies are also calculated. Pressure pulsations of the inlet and outlet pipelines are affected by cavitation instabilities. The 3x component (i.e., the blade-passing frequency of the inducer) is predominant in the outlet pulsation sensor. This seems to be related to the fact that the number of impeller blades is a multiple of the number of the inducer blades. The cavitation instability is also measured at the accelerometer of the pump casing.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.151.2-151.2
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• 2012

터보펌프 구동에 사용된 가스발생기 생성가스를 연소기로 공급하여 주추력 발생에 사용하는 다단연소 사이클 로켓엔진은 고추력을 요하는 우주 발사체에 널리 사용되고 있다. 다단연소 사이클 로켓엔진에 사용되는 가스발생기를 예연소기라 부르며 케로신과 액체산소를 추진제로 하는 다단연소 사이클 로켓엔진에는 산화제 과잉 예연소기가 사용된다. 예연소기는 터보펌프 구동을 목적으로 하기 때문에 예연소기 생성가스의 횡단면 온도분포는 터빈에 의해 제한되는 온도범위 내에서 균일하여야 하며 넓은 운전영역에서 안정적인 연소가 이루어져야 한다. 산화제 과잉 예연소기는 모든 추진제가 혼합헤드를 통해 분사되는 방식과 추진제를 혼합헤드와 연소실로 나누어 공급하는 방식이 있다. 기술검증을 위해 산화제 일부와 연료를 혼합헤드를 통해 연소실에 공급하여 1차 연소시키고 나머지 산화제를 연소실 냉각채널을 거쳐 연소실 중앙의 분사공을 통해 연소실로 주입하여 기화시키는 형태로 최종적으로 연소압 20MPa, 혼합비 60에서 작동하는 산화제 과잉 예연소기를 설계하여 연소시험을 수행하였다. 혼합헤드에는 별도의 점화용 분사기 없이 전체 연료 분사기를 통해 점화용 연료인 TEA/TEB 혼합물을 분사하여 점화하였다. 추진제를 2단으로 공급할 수 있도록 고안된 가압식 연소시험 설비에서 10회, 누적 60초 이상의 연소시험이 성공적으로 수행되었다. 연소시험결과 넓은 작동영역에서 안정적 연소특성과 생성가스 온도 분포의 균일성을 확인할 수 있었다. 고온 고압의 산화제 과잉 예연소기 기술 확보를 통해 케로신/액체산소 다단연소 사이클 로켓엔진 개발을 위한 기술적 기반을 마련하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.62-65
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• 2011

액체로켓엔진용 극저온 산화제 고압 배관 기술 개발을 위해 시제품을 제작하였다. 기술 개발 시제품은 체결용 플랜지, 직관, 곡관, 벨로우즈, 분기구로 구성하였다. 액체로켓엔진용 극저온 산화제 고압 배관은 터보펌프에서 토출된 고압의 극저온 산화제를 연소기로 공급하는 경로이므로 극저온, 고압의 작동환경에서 구조적 안정성을 가져야 한다. 따라서 본 제작공정 개발에서는 극저온을 고려한 구조해석을 수행하여 적합한 소재를 선정하였으며, 공정개발과 특수공정을 적용하여 시제품을 제작한 후 구조강도 시험을 수행하였다. 본 개발을 통해 액체로켓엔진에 적용되는 극저온 산화재 고압배관을 위한 기술적 기반과 소재 응용기술, 향후 고성능 대형 액체로켓엔진에 적용하기 위한 공정개발을 완료하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.317-320
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• 2011

Hydrogen peroxide turbopump was designed for bi-propellant liquid rocket engine using hydrogen peroxide and kerosene as propellants. Turbopump operation was verified through water tests. Design conditions of hydrogen peroxide turbopump were determined, and impeller was designed. Turbine which drives pump was selected from commercial turbocharger. Gas generator was designed by reference from turbine map. Pump, turbine, gas generator were integrated, and turbopump system was constructed. Turbopump supplied water by 1.47 bar of pressure and as well as 3.4 kg/s of mass flow rate.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.391-397
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• 2010

Performance tests of a liquid-oxygen pump were carried out using liquid nitrogen (LN2) as a working fluid in a cryogenic turbopump test facility in Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). The tests were performed at 30-55% of the design rotational speed, and the results were compared with those from a water test. The experimental results confirmed the similarity of the hydraulic performance, which allows the prediction of the pump performance at a design rotational speed of 20,000 rpm. The overall cavitation performance of the pump in the cryogenic environment was better than that in the water environment for all ranges of flow rates and rotational speeds. Critical cavitation number at the design flow rate was determined as 0.012 from the cryogenic test, and as 0.024 from the water test. The improved cavitation performance is due to the thermodynamic effect in cryogenic fluids.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.775-776
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• 2010

Volute casings for a liquid rocket turbopump are designed and evaluated in a structural point of view. After the design step volute casings are manufactured by metal casting process, and then they are subjected to burst test for verification. In the burst test strains at several points are measured and compared with predicted values.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.56-61
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• 2011

Performance test of a full-scale turbopump assembly for a 75 ton class liquid rocket engine was carried out at full speed. Model fluid was used as a working medium: liquid nitrogen for the oxidizer pump, water for the fuel pump, and hot air for the turbine. The turbopump was operated stably, satisfying the performance requirements. Head coefficient and flow coefficient of the pumps remained constant at the speed-increasing period. In terms of performance characteristics of pumps and turbine, the results from the turbopump assembly test showed a good agreement with those from the turbopump component tests.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.27-32
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• 2010

Performance test of a full-scale turbopump assembly for a 75 ton class liquid rocket engine was carried out at full speed. Model fluid was used as a working medium: liquid nitrogen for the oxidizer pump, water for the fuel pump, and hot air for the turbine. The turbopump was operated stably, satisfying the performance requirements. Head coefficient and flow coefficient of the pumps remained constant at the speed-increasing period. In terms of performance characteristics of pumps and turbine, the results from the turbopump assembly test showed a good agreement with those from the turbopump component tests.