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Regenerative

cooling of
liquid rocket
engine thrust
chambers
Marco Pizzarelli
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 1 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Regenerative cooling of LRE thrust chambers

Outline:

• Thrust chamber environment (basics)


• Convective heat transfer (fundaments)
• Heat transfer characterization:
• hot-gas side
• coolant side
• wall conduction
• Steady-state heat transfer
• Thermo-mechanical characterization
• Different thrust chamber designs
• Overview of advanced concepts
• Experimental characterization of hot-gas side heat transfer

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 2 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Regenerative cooling of LRE thrust chambers

Thrust chamber
environment (basics)

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Thrust chamber environment (basics)
A liquid rocket engine thrust chamber is the combustion device where the liquid propellants
are injected, atomized, mixed, and burned to form hot gaseous reaction products, which in
turn are accelerated and ejected at a high velocity to impart a thrust force

A thrust chamber has three major parts:


• an injector (that introduce the propellant
into chamber)
• a combustion chamber (where the
propellants burn creating a hot gas)
• a nozzle (where the hot gas is accelerated
to supersonic velocities)

In large liquid-propellant rocket engines the


thrust chamber is limited to the initial
supersonic part of the nozzle (area ratio
below 10). A nozzle extension is added to
achieve the desired hot gas expansion

Vulcain thrust chamber


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Thrust chamber environment (basics)
The increase of the combustion temperature improves the rocket engine specific impulse 𝐼"# :

𝑻𝟎𝒈
𝑰𝒔𝒑 ~
𝕸

where
• 𝑇./ : temperature of the combustion
products
• 𝔐: molecular mass of the combustion
products

Combustion temperatures of rocket


propellants are generally higher than
the melting points of common metal
alloys and refractory materials (up to
𝟑𝟔𝟎𝟎 K)

From (2)
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Thrust chamber environment (basics)
The strength of most materials declines rapidly at high temperatures. For rocket engine
applications, the temperature where a material loses 60 to 75% of its room temperature
strength is often selected as the maximum allowable wall temperature. This temperature is
well below the material melting point

Enough heat has to be


absorbed to keep these walls
at a sufficiently low
temperature, so that the wall
material is strong enough to
withstand the stresses
imposed by the fluid
pressure, thermal gradients,
and other loads

Measurements of static stress to cause


rupture after 100 hours (typically the
“stress to density ratio” is the relevant
variable) (1)

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Thrust chamber environment (basics)
Combustion chamber pressure 𝒑𝟎𝒈 in rocket engines is “high” (up to 250 bar) mainly because,
for a given nozzle area ratio:
• when operating in the atmosphere the larger 𝑝./ the larger the specific impulse 𝐼"#
• when operating in vacuum the larger 𝑝./ the smaller the engine

Higher 𝒑𝟎𝒈 is linked with higher


combustion-gas mass flow rate per
unit area of chamber cross section
and therefore with higher heat
transfer rate

Thrust coefficient 𝑪𝒇 versus nozzle area ratio (note: 𝑰𝒔𝒑 ~𝑪𝒇 ) (2)
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 7 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Thrust chamber environment (basics)
Combustion chamber temperature and pressures are “high”

Necessity to:

• cool the wall to a temperature considerably below its maximum allowable temperature
(i.e., much below the combustion temperature) or to stop operation before the wall
becomes too hot

• use high strength materials (the thickness, therefore the mass, of the thrust chamber
wall depends strongly on the stresses it can support)

Rocket engine cooling is necessary for strength considerations. In fact, enough heat has to
be absorbed to keep the walls at a sufficiently low temperature, so that the wall material is
strong enough to withstand the stresses imposed by the fluid pressure, thermal gradients,
and other loads. Consequently, the design of a thrust chamber is mainly a thermo-
mechanical problem that requires a proper characterization of the heat transfer and the
mechanical loads
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Thrust chamber environment (basics)
Regenerative cooling:
the walls of large liquid-propellant rocket engines (that are always bi-propellant rockets)
usually consist of an array of suitably shaped tubes machined or brazed together to form the
thrust chamber. The fuel or the oxidizer is used as a coolant flowing in such tubes before it is
injected in the combustion chamber. This method is called regenerative cooling because of
the similarity to steam regenerators

RL-10 cutaway
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Thrust chamber environment (basics)
Notes on regenerative cooling:
• This cooling technique mainly applies in mid-to-high
thrust levels because the heat flux to the chamber walls
increases as the hot-gas mass flow rate (and thus the
thrust) increases

• Large liquid propellant rocket engines are usually


turbopump-fed engines; in this case a sufficiently
large pressure drop is usually available for chamber
cooling (w.r.t. pressure-fed engines). This availability
permits the use of regenerative cooling, which requires
sufficient pressure to force the coolant through the
cooling passages. However there are examples of
pressure-fed engines that are regeneratively cooled
(e.g., Aestus uses mono-methyl-hydrazine as coolant) Aestus thrust chamber

• In regenerative cooling the heat absorbed by the coolant is not wasted; it augments the
initial energy content of the propellant prior to injection, increasing the exhaust velocity
slightly (0,1 to 1,5%) and most noticeably in small thrust chambers, where the wall-
surface-to-chamber volume ratio is relatively large

• Generally the fuel is used as coolant because of the tube wall oxidization concern if
oxidizer is used as coolant
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Thrust chamber environment (basics)
From a thermal point of view, regenerative cooling consists of the steady flow of heat
from a hot gas through a solid wall to a cool fluid. In fact, the heat from the combustion
gases conducts through the walls –mainly in the radial direction- and is convected away by
the fluid flowing in the cooling channels

Such problem can be reduced to a one-dimensional cooling jacket model (ignoring the heat
transfer through the walls that separate the coolant passages)

Typical configuration (1) One dimensional model (1)


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Regenerative cooling of LRE thrust chambers

Convective heat transfer


(fundaments)

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Convective heat transfer (fundaments)
In liquid rocket engines the most relevant heat transfer mechanisms is the forced convection

Convection: conduction enhanced by motion of the fluid


Forced convection: the fluid motion is generated by an external device (e.g., a pump)

From (1)

𝒬̇ or 𝑞> : wall heat transfer rate per unit area (or wall heat flux) [W/m2]
Velocity boundary layer (δ): large velocity gradients
Thermal boundary layer (δT ): large temperature gradients
𝜇𝑐E δ
𝑃𝑟 = =𝑓 (experimental evidence)
𝑘 δT
In most situations: δ~δT (hence Pr~1)
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Convective heat transfer (fundaments)
The governing equations for steady, two-dimensional, incompressible flow with constant
properties and under the Prandtl’s hypothesis (thin boundary layer):

𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑣
+ =0
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 1 𝑑𝑝 𝜕c𝑢
𝑢 +𝑣 =− +𝜐 c
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜌 𝑑𝑥 𝜕𝑦
c
𝜕ℎ 𝜕ℎ 𝑑𝑝 𝜕c𝑇 𝜕𝑢
𝜌𝑢 + 𝜌𝑣 =𝑢 +𝑘 c+𝜇
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝑑𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦

where:
𝑥 : direction parallel to the wall (velocity component 𝑢)
𝑦 : direction normal to the wall (velocity component 𝑣)
𝜌, 𝑝, 𝑇 : density, pressure and temperature
ℎ : specific enthalpy [J/K]
𝜇 : dynamic viscosity [Pa s]
𝜐 = 𝜇/𝜌 : kinematic viscosity [m2/s]
𝑘 : thermal conductivity [W/(m K)]
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Convective heat transfer (fundaments)
Simplifications of the energy equation:

c
𝜕ℎ 𝜕ℎ 𝑑𝑝 𝜕c𝑇 𝜕𝑢
𝜌𝑢 + 𝜌𝑣 =𝑢 +𝑘 c+𝜇
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝑑𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦

st c
• the viscous dissipation 𝜇 can be generally neglected (because of the low fluid velocity)
su

• in case of calorically perfect gas (i.e., ℎ = 𝑐E 𝑇) and no axial pressure gradient (e.g., flat plate)
it becomes:
𝜕𝑇 𝜕𝑇 𝜕c𝑇
𝑢 +𝑣 =𝛼 c
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦
where 𝛼 = 𝑘/𝜌𝑐E is the thermal diffusivity [m /s] 2

w
• in case of an incompressible fluid (i.e., 𝑑ℎ = 𝑐 d𝑇 + d𝑝) it becomes:
x
c
𝜕𝑇 𝜕𝑇 𝜕 𝑇
𝑢 +𝑣 =𝛼 c
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 15 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Convective heat transfer (fundaments)
In case of no axial pressure gradients (i.e., flat plate) the momentum and energy equations
becomes:

𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕c𝑢
𝑢 +𝑣 =𝜐 c
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦
𝜕𝑇 𝜕𝑇 𝜕c𝑇
𝑢 +𝑣 =𝛼 c
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦

• These equations are equal if:


𝜐 𝜇𝑐E
𝑃𝑟 = = =1
𝛼 𝑘
(most gases have 𝑃𝑟~1)

• Same solutions are possible introducing variables


that have same boundary conditions:
t {|{}
𝑢y = and 𝑇 y =
z {~ |{}
with
𝑢y = 𝑇 y = 0 at wall (i.e., 𝑦 = 0)
𝑢y = 𝑇 y = 1 outside the boundary layer (i.e., 𝑦 → ∞)

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Convective heat transfer (fundaments)

Same profiles of 𝑢y and 𝑇 y lead to:

({~ |{} )
• 𝑢y = 𝑇 y → 𝑇(𝑦) = 𝑇> + 𝑢(𝑦)
z

st
• wall shear stress: 𝜏> = 𝜇
su >

s{ {} |{~ st
• wall heat flux: 𝑞> = −𝑘 = −𝑘
su > z su >

‚ƒ}
Combining the above relations: 𝑞> = 𝑇> − 𝑇… .
„z

In other terms:

𝒒𝒘 = 𝒉𝒄 𝑻𝒘 − 𝑻…

where 𝒉𝒄 is the heat transfer coefficient and 𝑻𝒘 − 𝑻… is the driving potential

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Convective heat transfer (fundaments)
From the definition of 𝜏> and 𝑞> :

𝜕𝑢 𝑈
𝜏> = 𝜇 ≈𝜇
𝜕𝑦 >
δ

𝜕𝑇 𝑇> − 𝑇…
𝑞> = −𝑘 ≈𝑘
𝜕𝑦 >
δT

Hence:

𝑘𝜏> 𝑘 𝑘
ℎ• = ≈ ≈ (δ ≈ δT if 𝑃𝑟 ≈ 1)
𝜇𝑈 δ δT

Note that:

• the convective heat transfer coefficient does not depend on the wall temperature

• where the boundary layer thickness is minimum, the heat transfer coefficient is maximum

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Convective heat transfer (fundaments)
Relevant non-dimensional numbers:

• Skin friction coefficient


𝜏>
𝐶• =
1 c
𝜌𝑈
2

• Nusselt number
ℎ• 𝑥
𝑁𝑢‘ =
𝑘

• Reynolds number
𝜌𝑈𝑥
𝑅𝑒‘ =
𝜇

‚ƒ}
Rearranging the relation ℎ• = we obtain the Reynold’s analogy (flat plate):
„z
1
𝑁𝑢‘ = 𝐶• 𝑅𝑒‘
2
In case of 𝑃𝑟 ≠ 1 and turbulent flow (Colburn’s analogy):
1
𝑁𝑢‘ = 𝐶• 𝑅𝑒‘ 𝑃𝑟w/•
2
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Convective heat transfer (fundaments)
In case of pipe (i.e., axial pressure gradients) the Colburn’s analogy for turbulent flow is still valid:

𝟏
𝑵𝒖 = 𝑪𝒇 𝑹𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝟏/𝟑
𝟐

where:

• Reynolds number
𝐺𝐷 𝑚̇𝐷
𝑅𝑒 = =
𝜇 𝜇𝐴
(𝐷: pipe diameter; G: mass flux [kg/(s m2)]; 𝑚̇: mass flow rate [kg/s])

• Nusselt number
ℎ• 𝐷
𝑁𝑢 =
𝑘

• Mass flux:
1
𝐺 = £ 𝜌 𝒖 ¤ 𝒏 d𝐴
𝐴
¦
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Convective heat transfer (fundaments)

For a smooth pipe with turbulent flow having 3 ¤ 10¨ < 𝑅𝑒 < 10ª :

0,046
𝐶• =
𝑅𝑒 .,c

This yields to:

𝑵𝒖 = 𝟎, 𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝑹𝒆𝟎,𝟖 𝑷𝒓𝟎,𝟑𝟑

This expression, often referred to as “Dittus Boelter equation”, is useful in a fairly wide range
of pressure gradients

Surface roughness can have a large effect on the friction and heat transfer (that is, increasing of
both 𝐶• and 𝑁𝑢)

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Regenerative cooling of LRE thrust chambers

Heat transfer
characterization:
hot-gas side

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Heat transfer characterization: hot-gas side
The hot gas flow is essentially a boundary
layer flow

In the actual hot gases expansion within the


thrust chamber, the boundary layer thickness
at the throat does not strongly depend on the
boundary layer “history” (in the injection
region)

Moreover, the boundary layer thickness may


decrease in the flow direction (due to steep
axial pressure gradients), reaching a minimum
at the throat of the nozzle

expected maximum convective heat transfer



rate at the throat (ℎ/ ≈ ) From (1)
δ
Note: Boundary layer is affected by wall curvature, axial pressure gradients, and normal
pressure gradients; however the approach used for the flat plate and tubes is fairly valid
(especially after the throat, that can be treated as a leading edge: δ®¯°±²® = 0)
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Heat transfer characterization: hot-gas side

The turbulent convective hot-gas side heat transfer in


the actual condition (i.e., high flow velocity and 𝑃𝑟 ≠ 1)
can be modeled as:

𝒒𝒈 = 𝒉𝒈 𝑻𝒘𝒂 − 𝑻𝒘𝒉

where:
• 𝑞/ is the convective heat flux
• ℎ/ is the heat transfer coefficient
• 𝑇>´ − 𝑇>µ is the driving potential
• 𝑇>´ is the adiabatic wall temperature
• 𝑇>µ is the hot gas side wall temperature

Note that:
• one dimensional isentropic flow modeling is assumed for the hot-gas flow

• the hot-gas flow in a thrust chamber can be still assimilated to a boundary layer problem
and thus 𝒉𝒈 is only a weak function of the wall temperature

• in case of high velocity, the driving potential is not based on the free stream
temperature but on the adiabatic wall temperature
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Heat transfer characterization: hot-gas side

The adiabatic wall temperature is the temperature that would be attained at wall in case of
adiabatic condition: 𝑞/ = 0. Its deviation from the stagnation temperature of the free stream is
evaluated by the recovery factor 𝑟:

𝑻𝒘𝒂 − 𝑻𝒈
𝒓=
𝑻𝟎𝒈 − 𝑻𝒈

where

• 𝑇/ is the free stream temperature

• 𝑇./ is the free stream stagnation temperature


From (1)
• the recovery factor is typically 𝑟~0,9 and in case of
turbulent flow with P𝑟~1 it is often approximated
as: 𝑟 = 𝑃𝑟w/•

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Heat transfer characterization: hot-gas side
{·¸ ¼|w •¾
Since = 1 + 𝛿̅𝑀c (where 𝛿̅ = , γ= , and M is the free stream Mach number):
{¸ c •¿

𝑇>´ 𝑇>´ 1 + 𝑟𝛿̅𝑀c


= 1 + 𝑟𝛿̅𝑀 or
c
=
𝑇/ 𝑇./ 1 + 𝛿 ̅𝑀 c

Note: for 𝑟 = 0,9 and 𝛾 = 1,2 (𝛿̅ = 0,1):


• 𝑇>´ ≈ 𝑇./ if M < 0,7
• 𝑇>´ = 0,93𝑇./ if M = 5

This highlights that:

• the adiabatic wall temperature is essentially equal to the free stream stagnation
temperature (i.e., the combustion temperature)

• in case of adiabatic condition the flow at wall almost reaches the combustion temperature

• if the wall has a flow obstruction or a wall protrusion, then the kinetic gas energy is locally
converted back into thermal energy essentially equal to the stagnation temperature and
pressure of the combustion chamber. Since this would lead to local overheating and failure
of the wall, rocket engine inner walls have to be smooth
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Heat transfer characterization: hot-gas side
Many (although sometimes more complicated) correlations for the Nusselt number similar to
the Dittus Boelter equation (𝑁𝑢 = 0,023 𝑅𝑒 ., 𝑃𝑟 .,•• ) are presented in the literature

Almost all the proposed correlations are based on the assumption that 𝑁𝑢~ 𝑅𝑒 ., and can be
applied to determine (at best) within about ±𝟐𝟎% the convective heat transfer

The fluid properties can be evaluated at local bulk temperature or at a given “film
temperature” (e.g., the average value between the wall and the free stream temperature)

The most known correlation is the one proposed by Bartz (1955):

.,Â
ℎ/ 𝐷 𝑚̇𝐷 𝜇𝑐E .,¨ 𝜌´Å 𝜇´Å .,c
= 0,026
𝑘. 𝜇. 𝐴 𝑘 . 𝜌′ 𝜇.

where:
• the subscript “0” refers to properties evaluated at the combustion temperature
• the subscript “am” refers to properties evaluated at the average temperature between the
wall and the free stream temperature
• 𝜌′ is the free-stream value of the local gas density

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Heat transfer characterization: hot-gas side
Since
SSME-MCC heat transfer coefficient (3)

𝑵𝒖~ 𝑹𝒆𝟎,𝟖

where
𝑚̇
𝑅𝑒~𝐺𝐷~
𝐷
(𝑚̇ = 𝐺𝐴 is the hot gas mass flow rate, which is
constant through the thrust chamber in case of
steady state conditions)

the hot gas side heat transfer coefficient is:

𝒎̇𝟎,𝟖
𝒉𝒈 ~ 𝟏,𝟖
𝑫 throat section
For a given mass flow rate, the maximum heat
transfer coefficient occurs at the throat of the
thrust chamber (experimentally, the maximum
ℎ/ is observed slightly upstream because of
variable flow properties)

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Heat transfer characterization: hot-gas side
The mass flow rate in a chocked thrust chamber (i.e., M = 1 at the throat) is:

𝒑𝟎𝒈 𝑨𝒕
𝒎̇ = 𝜞
𝑹𝑻𝟎𝒈

where
• 𝑝./ is the stagnation pressure at the throat
(it is assumed that the flow is isentropic and thus the stagnation pressure is constant all along
the thrust chamber → 𝑝./ is the chamber pressure)
• 𝑇./ is the stagnation temperature at the throat
(it is assumed that the flow is adiabatic and thus the stagnation temperature is constant all
along the thrust chamber → 𝑇./ is the chamber temperature)
ÐÑÒ
ÎÏw |Ó ÐÔÒ
• 𝐴Ì is the throat area, 𝑅 is the hot gas constant, and Γ = γ is a fluid constant
c
•¾
weakly depending on γ = . For γ = 1.2 → Γ ≃ 0,65
•¿

Thus, the hot gas side heat transfer coefficient can be expressed as:

., .,×
𝑝./ 𝐴Ì
ℎ/ ~ .,c
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 29 𝐷Ì 𝐴 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Heat transfer characterization: hot-gas side
The expression:

𝒑𝟎,𝟖
𝟎𝒈 𝑨𝒕
𝟎,𝟗
𝒉𝒈 ~ 𝟎,𝟐
𝑫𝒕 𝑨

highlights that:

• the cooling requirement increases rather rapidly with increasing chamber pressure

• the cooling requirement increases with decreasing thrust chamber dimension

• the maximum heat transfer coefficient occurs at the throat of the thrust chamber

• scale laws can be used to characterize the hot gas side heat transfer

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Heat transfer characterization: hot-gas side
Radiative heat transfer

The heat transfer rate to the thrust chamber walls can be augmented by the hot gas energy
radiation

Gases do not radiate over a continuous spectrum of wavelengths but rather over discrete
“bands” (i.e., far from the “blackbody” emission spectrum). Moreover, gases absorb
radiation as they radiate it. The most important radiating gases from common propellants
are CO2, H2O, CO, etc. (in general, polyatomic gases radiate more strongly than diatomic
gases)

The radiant power from hot gas to a “unit area” wall can be modeled as:

𝒒𝒓 = 𝝐𝒈 𝝈 𝑻𝟒𝒈

where
• 𝜖/ is the gas emissivity (non-dimensional < 1); it is a complex function of the gas
properties and 𝜖/ = 1 in the case of “blackbody” emission
• 𝜎 is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (𝜎 = 5,6697 ¤ 10|Â W/mc K ¨ )
• 𝑇/ is the gas temperature

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Heat transfer characterization: hot-gas side

The wall is usually assumed to absorb all the incident radiation (like a “blackbody”) while
reradiating negligible energy because 𝑇>/ ≪ 𝑇/

Hence, 𝑞à = 𝜖/ 𝜎 𝑇/¨ approximately represents the net radiant heat flux to the wall

In general, radiative heat flux increases with increasing temperature, pressure and chamber
throat diameter

If the gases contain solid or liquid particles, these may appreciably contribute to the
emitted radiant energy. In this case, the particles radiate over a continuous spectrum of the
wavelengths (i.e., luminous flames in contrast to the non-sooty flames that radiate very little
in the visible region of the spectrum because the emitting bands of CO2, H2O, CO are all in
the infrared region)

Generally, radiative heat transfer in rocket thrust chamber is generally modest (especially
in the absence of solid particles), from 5% to 35% of the total heat transfer

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Regenerative cooling of LRE thrust chambers

Heat transfer
characterization:
coolant side

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Heat transfer characterization: coolant side

Assuming a one-dimensional cooling jacket


model with low fluid velocity, the convective
heat transfer rate to the coolant can be
modeled as: Cooling jacket schematic (cross section)

𝒒𝑳 = 𝒉𝑳 𝑻𝒘𝒄 − 𝑻𝑳

where:

• ℎâ : coolant heat transfer coefficient [W/(K m2)]

• 𝑇>• : coolant-side wall temperature

• 𝑇â : coolant free stream temperature


Detail of the one dimensional model

Note: in case of pipe flow (i.e., considering the coolant flowing in a number of tubes that
constitute the thrust chamber) 𝑇â represents the average coolant temperature (bulk
temperature) instead the free-stream temperature. In this case, the fluid properties (𝜇, 𝑘, and
𝑐E ) are evaluated at such average temperature. Finally, if the pipe cross section is not
circular, the hydraulic diameter is used in the formulas

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Heat transfer characterization: coolant side

The bulk temperature of the coolant increases from the point of entry until it leaves the cooling
passages, as a function of the heat absorbed and of the coolant flowrate, as imposed by the
energy balance equation:

𝑸𝑳 = 𝒎̇𝑳 ∆𝑯𝑳 = 𝒎̇𝑳 𝒄𝒑𝑳 ∆𝑻𝑳


where:

• 𝑄â : wall heat transfer rate entering the coolant [W]


• 𝑚̇â : coolant mass flow rate [kg/s]
• ∆𝐻â : coolant bulk enthalpy increase in the cooling circuit [J/kg]
• ∆𝑇â : coolant bulk temperature increase in the cooling circuit [K]
• 𝑐Eâ : coolant specific heat (assumed constant or a proper average value) [J/(kg K)]

Note that in the energy equation the assumption of low velocity has been made and thus the
stagnation and the static conditions are equal

None of the common propellants can absorb more than a few percentage of the heat of
combustion (without vaporizing or decomposing and thus becoming unsuitable as coolants).
The heat of combustion can be of the order of 100 MJ per kg of fuel while ∆𝐻â can be of the
order of 1 MJ/kg. This large difference is due to the fact that the combustion is a much more
energetic phenomenon than convective heat transfer
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 35 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Heat transfer characterization: coolant side
Notes on coolant pressure drop

Provided that the coolant remains chemically stable, the cooling system should be designed so
that the fluid absorbs all possible heat transferred from the hot-gas. Of course, the coolant
pressure drop must be properly regulated because higher pressure drop allows a higher
coolant velocity in the cooling channel (and thus a better cooling), but requires a heavier feed
system, which increases the engine mass and thus also the total inert vehicle mass

In order to limit the coolant pressure drop, abrupt change of flow direction and sudden
expansion or contraction of flow areas should be avoided. Moreover, the inner surface of
cooling passages should be smooth and clean

The pressure drop ∆𝑝 in a channel of length L, diameter 𝐷 and without concentrated pressure
loss can be evaluated as follows:

𝐺 c 𝑓𝐿
∆𝑝 = ¤
2𝜌 𝐷
where

• 𝑓: friction factor coefficient (it is mainly a function of 𝑅𝑒 and relative surface roughness)
• 𝐺: coolant mass flux
• 𝜌: coolant density
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 36 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Heat transfer characterization: coolant side
Typical rocket coolants operate in different thermodynamic regimes that can have a
remarkable influence on the cooling performances
Some examples and their typical state in the
cooling circuit with respect to the critical
point 𝑝• and 𝑇• :
• Water (liquid)
𝑝• = 221 bar and 𝑇• = 647 K
• Hydrazine (liquid or sup. pres.)
𝑝• = 147 bar and 𝑇• = 652 K
• Nitrogen tetroxide (liquid or sup. pres.)
𝑝• = 101 bar and 𝑇• = 431 K
• Methane (sup. pres.)
𝑝• = 46 bar and 𝑇• = 190 K
• Kerosene (sup. pres.)
𝑝• = 20 bar and 𝑇• = 678 K
Note: in most systems, particularly those
• Hydrogen (sup. pres.)
fed from a turbopump, the coolant
𝑝• = 13 bar and 𝑇• = 33 K
pressure is supercritical
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 37 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Heat transfer characterization: coolant side

Depending on the coolant thermodynamic


(especially with respect to the critical pressure 𝑝•
and the boiling temperature 𝑇ëì -defined only if
𝑝 < 𝑝• ) and flow conditions, different regimes in
transferring heat can be recognized:

• Forced convection
(when 𝑝 < 𝑝• and 𝑇>• < 𝑇ëì or when 𝑝 > 𝑝• )
single phase heat transfer

• Nucleate boiling 𝑝
(when 𝑝 < 𝑝• and 𝑇>• − 𝑇ëì ≲ 50K)
small vapor bubbles causes local turbulence
increase and ℎâ greatly increases

• Film boiling
(when 𝑝 < 𝑝• and 𝑇>• − 𝑇ëì ≳ 50K)
From (2)
a gaseous film insulates the wall, often
causing its melting 𝑇>• − 𝑇â

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 38 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Heat transfer characterization: coolant side
In case of subcritical pressure, to achieve a good heat-absorbing capacity of the coolant, the
coolant flow velocity is selected so that boiling is permitted locally at wall but the bulk of the
coolant does not reach this boiling condition. The maximum feasible heat transfer rate is
referred to as 𝑞Å´‘ . It mostly depends on the fluid pressure and velocity.

Some examples: 𝑞ó²ô


ñò
• Hydrazine: 𝑞Å´‘ = 15 ÷ 30 Ó
Å
(𝑝• = 147 bar and 𝑇• = 652 K)

ñò
• Nitrogen tetroxide: 𝑞Å´‘ = 6 ÷ 11
ÅÓ
(𝑝• = 101 bar and 𝑇• = 431 K) 𝑝

ñò
• Kerosene: 𝑞Å´‘ = 2 ÷ 6 Ó
Å
(𝑝• = 20 bar and 𝑇• = 678 K)

𝑇>• − 𝑇â
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 39 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Heat transfer characterization: coolant side
Many semiempirical relations have been found to determine the coolant heat transfer in round
tubes and for liquids far from boiling and supercritical fluids sufficiently far the from critical
point. These correlation are typically of the “Dittus Boelter”-type and have a typical uncertainty
of 20÷30%:
𝑵𝒖 = 𝑨 𝑹𝒆𝟎,𝟖 𝑷𝒓𝒂
Modification terms are typically added to take
into account for:

• entrance (increases ℎâ )

• non-circular cross section

• wall to coolant temperature difference


(generally decreases ℎâ )

• roughness
(can greatly
increases ℎâ )
(NASA) (NASA)

• curvature (either increases or decreases ℎâ ,


depending on the curvature orientation)
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 40 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Regenerative cooling of LRE thrust chambers

Heat transfer
characterization:
wall conduction

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 41 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Heat transfer characterization: wall conduction

Assuming a one-dimensional cooling


jacket model, the heat transfer through
the solid wall is modeled by:

𝒌𝒘 Cooling jacket schematic (cross section)


𝒒𝒘 = (𝑻 − 𝑻𝒘𝒄 )
∆𝑳 𝒘𝒉

where

• 𝑘> : thermal conductivity of the wall


material

• ∆𝐿: wall thickness

• 𝑇>µ is the hot gas side wall


temperature

• 𝑇>• : coolant-side wall temperature

Detail of the one dimensional model


ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 42 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Heat transfer characterization: wall conduction

Realistic wall heat transfer

Heat transfer in an actual rocket


engine thrust chamber is far more coolant
complicated than in a cooling
jacket model because of the multi-
dimensional heat transmission in
the wall hot combustion gas

Heat is transferred also through


the walls that separate the coolant
passages and thus also in the
tangential direction

The lateral walls may have the


beneficial function of cooling fins
(i.e., larger coolant-side heat
transfer surface than hot-gas side
heat transfer surface)

Sketch of realistic heat transfer in a thrust chamber wall (2)


ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 43 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Regenerative cooling of LRE thrust chambers

Steady-state heat
transfer

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 44 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Steady-state heat transfer

For steady conditions and assuming a one-dimensional cooling


jacket model, the heat transfer balance is:

𝑞/ + 𝑞à = 𝑞> = 𝑞â
where

• 𝑞/ = ℎ/ 𝑇>´ − 𝑇>µ : convective hot-gas side heat flux

• 𝑞à : radiative hot-gas side heat flux

‚}
• 𝑞> = 𝑇>µ − 𝑇>• : conductive heat flux through the wall
∆𝐿

• 𝑞â = ℎâ 𝑇>• − 𝑇â : convective coolant-side heat flux

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 45 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Steady-state heat transfer
Combining the expressions of the heat fluxes:

• The heat flux in the wall is:

𝒒𝒓
𝒒𝒘 = 𝑯 𝑻𝒘𝒂 − 𝑻𝑳 +
𝒉𝒈

where 𝐻 is the overall heat transfer coefficient:

𝟏 𝟏 ∆𝑳 𝟏
= + +
𝑯 𝒉𝒈 𝒌𝒘 𝒉𝑳

• The hot-gas side wall temperature is:

𝑻𝑳 + 𝜺𝑻𝒘𝒂 𝒒𝒓
𝑻𝒘𝒉 = +
𝟏+𝜺 𝒉𝒈
where:

∆𝑳 𝟏
𝜺 = 𝒉𝒈 +
𝒌𝒘 𝒉𝑳
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 46 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Steady-state heat transfer

The actual configuration is not one-dimensional because of the presence of an array of


circular/rectangular cooling tubes. Note that since ℎâ ~ 1⁄𝐷w, , best cooling system consists of
many small-diameter tubes. In fact, large thrust chambers have hundreds of tubes with
dimensions of the order of few mm (or even less)

To take into account the actual configuration, the one-


dimensional model can be improved considering the
“effective” areas through which the heat transfer passes:

𝑞/ + 𝑞à 𝐴/ = 𝑞> 𝐴> = 𝑞â 𝐴â

where:
• 𝐴/ : gas side area
• 𝐴> : effective wall area
• 𝐴â : effective coolant side area

Note that 𝐴> and 𝐴â do not necessarily correspond to the


geometric areas

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 47 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Steady-state heat transfer

The formulas of the conductive heat flux 𝑞> and the hot gas side wall temperature 𝑇>µ does not
change, provided that the coolant heat transfer coefficient and the wall thermal conductivity are
replaced by the “equivalent” values:

𝐴â
ℎây = ℎâ
𝐴/

y
𝐴>
𝑘> = 𝑘>
𝐴/

Note that, since 𝐴â and 𝐴> are larger than 𝐴/ , the equivalent values 𝒉y𝑳 and 𝒌y𝒘 are larger than
the original one 𝒉𝑳 and 𝒌𝒘

Including this geometric effect implies a larger conductive heat flux 𝑞> and a lower hot gas side
wall temperature 𝑇>µ

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 48 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Steady-state heat transfer
ñò ñò
Typical heat flux in chemical rocket propulsion can vary from fractions of up to 160 (as
ÅÓ ÅÓ
in the throat region of the Space Shuttle Main Engine)

The nozzle throat region has usually the highest heat-transfer intensity and is therefore the most
difficult to cool. For this reason the cooling channels are often designed so that the coolant
velocity is highest in this region by restricting the coolant passage cross section

Note that the heat flux is practically independent of


the wall temperature. This is because the inner wall
temperature of a cooled thrust chamber must be
kept so much lower than the than the combustion
temperature that the differences in wall
temperature cause only small differences in heat
flux. In fact:
∆𝑞/ ∆𝑇>µ
𝑞/ = ℎ/ 𝑇>´ − 𝑇>µ ⟹ =
𝑞/ 𝑇>´ − 𝑇>µ
Typical values can be 𝑇>´ ~3500K and 𝑇>/ ~700K
(in the throat region). If ∆𝑇>µ ~200 K (e.g., wall
temperature variation due to highly different
cooling mass flow rate), it results that the heat flux
∆ù¸
Typical heat transfer rate distribution of difference is only ~7%.
a small thrust chamber (2) ù¸
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 49 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Steady-state heat transfer
·,û
E·¸ ¦ .,×
Since ℎ/ ~ ·,Ó ý and (in case of no radiation) 𝑞> ~ℎ/ , the heat flux at the throat is:
üý ¦

𝒑𝟎,𝟖
𝟎𝒈
𝒒𝒘𝒕 ~
𝑫𝟎,𝟐
𝒕

Finally, because the thrust is F = 𝐶ÿ 𝑝ì/ 𝐴Ì , comparing engines with equal thrust coefficient 𝐶ÿ gives
F~𝑝ì/ 𝐷Ìc and thus:

𝒑𝟎,𝟗
𝟎𝒈
𝒒𝒘𝒕 ~
𝑭𝟎,𝟏

The peak heat flux (at the throat region) increases almost linearly with 𝑝./ because higher 𝑝./ is
linked with higher combustion-gas mass flow rate per unit area of chamber cross section and
therefore with higher heat transfer coefficient:
𝐹 𝐹 𝒎̇𝒈
𝐢𝐟 𝐅 = 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕 and 𝒑𝒐𝒈 ↑ ⇛⇛⇛ 𝐴Ì = ↓; 𝑚̇/ = = 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡; 𝑮𝒕 = ↑ ; ℎ/Ì ↑
𝐶ÿ 𝑝ì/ 𝐶ÿ 𝐶 ∗ 𝑨𝒕
Moreover, increasing the engine thrust, the heat flux slightly reduces. This is due to the fact that
larger engines have larger throat area and thus slightly smaller heat transfer coefficient:
𝐹 𝐹 𝒎̇𝒈 𝒑𝒐𝒈 𝑚̇/., 𝐺Ì.,Â
𝐢𝐟 𝒑𝒐𝒈 = 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕 and 𝑭 ↑ ⇛⇛⇛ 𝐴Ì = ↑; 𝑚̇/ = ↑; 𝑮𝒕 = = ∗ = 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕; ℎ/Ì ~ w, = .,w ↓
𝐶ÿ 𝑝ì/ 𝐶ÿ 𝐶 ∗ 𝑨𝒕 𝑪 𝐷Ì 𝐴Ì
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 50 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Steady-state heat transfer
𝒑𝟎,𝟗
𝟎𝒈
The relation 𝒒𝒘𝒕 ~ implies that:
𝑭𝟎,𝟏

• the maximum allowable heat flux limits the chamber pressure and thus the engine
performances
• cooling is relatively easier in large-thrust engines

Different propellants
have different heat
transfer rates:
p.,×
.4
q2® = C .,w
F
where the parameter
C depends on the
adopted propellants.

Maximum heat flux


versus chamber
pressure and at
different thrust levels
of LOX/LH2 and
LOX/RP-1 rocket
engines (NASA)

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 51 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Steady-state heat transfer
Effect of increasing the heat transfer parameters 𝒉𝒈 , 𝒉𝑳 , and 𝒌𝒘 /∆𝑳 on the wall heat flux 𝒒𝒘
and temperature 𝑻𝒘𝒉 :

𝒒𝒘 𝑻𝒘𝒉
𝒉𝒈 + +
𝒉𝑳 + -
𝒌𝒘 /∆𝑳 + -

In fact:
• an increase of ℎ/ , or ℎâ , or 𝑘> /∆𝐿 leads to an increase of the overall heat transfer coefficient 𝐻
w w ∆𝐿 w
where = + + and thus of 𝑞> = 𝐻 𝑇>´ − 𝑇â
5 µ¸ ‚} µ6
∆𝐿 w {6 Ï8{}9
• an increase of ℎ/ implies an increase of 𝜀 = ℎ/ + and thus of 𝑇>µ = while an
‚} µ6 wÏ8
increase of ℎâ or 𝑘> /∆𝐿 implies a decrease of 𝜀 (and thus of 𝑇>/ )

It is one of the major design goals to keep coefficient 𝒉𝒈 “low” and the coefficient 𝒉𝑳 and
∆𝑳 /𝒌𝒘 “high” in order to reduce the hot gas side wall temperature 𝑻𝒘𝒈

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 52 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Regenerative cooling of LRE thrust chambers

Thermo-mechanical
characterization

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 53 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Thermo-mechanical characterization
Occurrence of both static and dynamic loads

• The walls of the thrust chambers are subjected to radial and axial loads from the chamber
and coolant pressure, flight accelerations, vibration, and thermal stresses. They also have to
withstand a momentary ignition pressure surge or shock, often due to excessive propellant
accumulation in the chamber (this surge can exceed the nominal chamber pressure)

• The thermal stresses induced by the temperature difference across the wall are often the
most severe stresses and a change in heat transfer or wall temperature distribution will
affect the stresses in the wall. In particular, the most severe thermal stresses can occur during
the start, when the hot gases cause thermal shock to the wall

Issues to be taken into consideration about the selection of the thrust chamber materials:

• The strength of the chamber wall against the thermal gradients and the high pressure in the
cooling system (with respect to the hot-gas pressure)

• The chemical resistance of the material to the low-velocity coolant on one side and to the
high-velocity hot-gas on the other

• The method of fabrication (metal forming and welding or machining, casting, etc.)
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 54 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Thermo-mechanical characterization
Estimation of the wall stress (static loads)

Ignoring the walls that separate the coolant passages (i.e., assuming a one-dimensional cooling
jacket model), the wall material undergoes a combination of a constant compressive stress 𝑆E ,
caused by the pressure differential between the coolant and combustion gases, 𝑝•ì − 𝑝/ , and the
thermal stress 𝑆Ì caused by the temperature gradient across the wall. The thermal stress induce
compression on the hot-gas side and expansion on the coolant side. The maximum (compressive)
stress occurs at the hot-gas side and can be evaluated as:

𝑝•ì − 𝑝./ 𝑟 𝐸𝛼𝑞> ∆𝐿


𝑆= +
∆𝐿 2 1 − 𝜐 𝑘>
•ìÅEà;<<=>; <Ìà;<< ̵;àÅ´@ <Ìà;<<
where:
• 𝑟: engine radius
• ∆𝐿 : wall thickness
• E: modulus of elasticity of the wall material
• 𝛼: thermal expansion coefficient of wall material
• 𝜐: Poisson’s ratio of the wall material
• 𝑘> : thermal conductivity of the wall material

Note that, according to the cooling jacket method, wall temperature difference in wall material is:
𝑞> ∆𝐿
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 55 ∆𝑇 = Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
𝑘>
Thermo-mechanical characterization
At a given thrust level regenerative cooling is feasible only if the combustion pressure is
below a limiting value 𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝟎𝒈 and for a given wall thickness ∆𝑳
𝒍𝒊𝒎
. These parameters are
established by structural requirements to accommodate pressure and thermal stresses as well as
by fabrication feasibility limits
This limit arises because:
• the pressure differential stress 𝑆E is
proportional to:
ECD |E·¸ à E·¸
𝑆E = ~
Ɖ Ɖ
(note that 𝑝•ì − 𝑝./ ~𝑝./ )

• the thermal stress 𝑆Ì is proportional to:


EFù} ∆â .,×
𝑆Ì = ~𝑞> ∆𝐿~𝑝./ ∆𝐿
c w|G ‚}
.,×
(note that 𝑞> ~𝑝./ /𝐹 .,w )
(NASA)

In other words:
• the thicker the wall the more it supports the pressure load. The request for thick wall is
more pronounced with increasing chamber pressure

• the thinner the wall the more it supports the thermal load. The request for thin wall is
more pronounced with increasing chamber pressure
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 56 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Thermo-mechanical characterization
The limiting values of chamber pressure 𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒎𝟎𝒈 and wall thickness ∆𝑳
𝒍𝒊𝒎
are dependent on
cooling system configuration and material properties

(NASA)

With respect to stainless steels, copper alloys generally permit higher chamber pressure with
wall thickness between 0,5 and 1mm (which is still feasible by means of milling technique
because copper is a highly ductile material). For this reason, copper alloys are an excellent
choice but for propellant combinations with corrosive or aggressive oxidizers (nitric acid or
nitrogen tetroxide) stainless steel is often used as the inner wall material, because copper would
chemically react. Maximum allowed temperature is about 850K for high-performance copper
alloys (such as CuAgZr) and 900K for stainless steel. Thermal conductivity of copper alloys is
300-380 W/m K while of stainless steel is about 20 W/m K
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 57 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Thermo-mechanical characterization
Note that the copper alloys led to “high” value of 𝑘> /∆𝐿, which is beneficial for the heat
transfer. In fact, considering typical values of the thermal conductivity and wall thickness of
copper alloys structures, 𝑘> /∆𝐿~10H ÷ 10ª W/m2K whereas the hot gas and coolant side heat
transfer coefficients are ℎ/ , ℎâ ~10• ÷ 10H W/m2K. This leads to:
• higher wall heat flux 𝑞>
• lower hot gas side wall temperature 𝑻𝒘𝒉
• lower temperature difference in the wall 𝑇>µ − 𝑇>•
• lower thermal stress 𝑺𝒕

In fact:
‚ ‚
• increasing } under the hypothesis } ≫ ℎ/ , ℎâ
∆𝐿 ∆𝐿
then:
w w ∆𝐿 w w w
• = + + ≈ + ↓
5 µ¸ ‚} µ6 µ¸ µ6
• 𝑞> = 𝐻 𝑇>´ − 𝑇â ↑
∆𝐿 w µ¸
• 𝜀 = ℎ/ + ≈ ↓
‚} µ6 µ6
{6 Ï8{}9
• 𝑇>µ = ↓
wÏ8
∆𝐿 ∆𝐿
• 𝑇>µ − 𝑇>• = 𝑞> = 𝐻 𝑇>´ − 𝑇â ↓
‚} ‚}
EFù} ∆â EF({}L |{}C )
• 𝑆Ì = = ↓
c w|G ‚} c w|G
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 58 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Regenerative cooling of LRE thrust chambers

Different thrust
chamber designs

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 59 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Different thrust chamber designs
Different fabrication techniques: tubular-wall design

Tubular wall without outer shell (NASA) Tubular wall with outer shell (2)

This type of cooling system is made of singularly formed tapered tubes (to reduce the tube
area in the throat region) that are brazed together. Tube cross section can be circular or not.
This construction technique generally imposes the use of stainless steel or nickel alloys –e.g.
Inconel- (low thermal conductivity materials) with relative small thickness (even 0,2 mm can
be realized because of the relative strength of these materials). Even if external bands of high-
strength steel are generally added to contain the pressure loads, this design is limited to
relatively low heat flux (i.e., 𝒑𝟎𝒈 < 𝟏𝟎𝟎 bar). The primary advantage of this design is its light
weight (because of the use of high strength materials) and the large gained experience in US
(e.g., F-1, RL-10, J-2, RS-27)
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 60 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Different thrust chamber designs
Tubular-wall design used on relatively low chamber pressure thrust chambers or nozzle extensions

H-1: 𝑝./ ~50 bar F-1: 𝑝./ ~70 bar RL-10: 𝑝./ ~20 ÷ 40 bar
(stainless steel 347; ∆𝐿Å=M ~0,25mm) (Inconel X-750; ∆𝐿Å=M ~0,46mm) (stainless steel 347; ∆𝐿Å=M ~0,25mm)

J-2: 𝑝./ ~50 bar LE-5A: 𝑝./ ~40 bar SSME nozzle: 𝑝./ ~200 bar
(stainless steel 347; ∆𝐿Å=M ~0,25mm) (nickel alloy) (stainless steel A-286)

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 61 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Different thrust chamber designs
Different fabrication techniques: channel-wall design

Channel wall with rectangular tubes (2)

This type of cooling system is realized by machining (typically milling) rectangular grooves of
variable width and depth into the surface of a relatively thick contoured high-conductivity
chamber and nozzle wall liner; an outer shell of nickel-alloy (high strength material) is added to
enclose the coolant passages
The advantage over the tubular-wall design is the possibility to use high-conductivity material
for wall construction, such as copper alloys, and relatively small thickness (below 1mm).
Consequently, this design can be used to extremely-high-heat-flux. This design, that is more
recent in US than tubular-wall, is adopted in all relatively high pressure thrust chambers, that
is, having 𝒑𝟎𝒈 > 𝟏𝟎𝟎 bar (e.g., SSME-MCC, RS-68, Vulcain)
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 62 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Different thrust chamber designs
Channel-wall design generally used on relatively high chamber pressure thrust chambers

SSME-MCC: 𝑝./ ~200 bar Vulcain: 𝑝./ ~100 bar

Merlin 1C: 𝑝./ ~100 bar Aestus (note the liner made of steel instead of copper alloy): 𝑝./ ~11 bar

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 63 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Different thrust chamber designs
Historical note on US thrust chambers
First US thrust chambers (in the late 40s)
were made using the welded, doublewall,
sheet metal configuration (like in the V2)
in steel or nickel alloys
When engines went to higher thrust levels,
the sheet metal configuration reached a
limit: walls thin enough to maintain heat
transfer would buckle, whereas walls thick
enough to resist buckling would have
insufficient heat transfer. The answer in
the United States was to go to a tubular
configuration. Tubes were brazed to each
other and to a metal shell or hat-bands for
stiffening. The result was a light-weight
yet flexible structure which is strong and
had good heat transfer characteristics (NASA)

When the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) began development, it was apparent that the
higher combustion chamber temperature and pressure required much stronger construction, as
well as an extremely high heat transfer capability. This dictated a channel-wall construction
along with a copper alloy hot wall for high thermal conductivity
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 64 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Different thrust chamber designs
Historical note on US thrust chambers

The advancement of the US thrust chamber design has permitted to improve the maximum
allowable heat flux (at the throat) and thus the chamber pressure
channel wall design

up to 160 MW/m2
(𝒑𝟎𝒈 = 𝟐𝟎𝟎 bar)

disruptive
tubular wall design improvement up to 35 MW/m2
(𝒑𝟎𝒈 = 𝟓𝟎 bar)

sheet metal design up to 15 MW/m2


(𝒑𝟎𝒈 = 𝟕𝟎 bar)

Rocket engines time evolution of the maximum throat heat flux (c)

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 65 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Different thrust chamber designs
Focus on SSME-MCC

The Main Combustion Chamber of the Space Shuttle Main Engine is regeneratively cooled with
hydrogen and has 390 coolant slots (430 in later versions) in the copper alloy (NARloy-Z, a
copper-silver-zirconium alloy with significantly greater strength than pure copper but with only slightly
lower thermal conductivity) liner; the slots are closed out with a thin layer of electrodeposited
copper (as a hydrogen barrier) and then electrodeposited nickel (for strength)

The channel-wall design of the


SSME-MCC has demonstrated
ability to withstand chamber
pressure of more than 200 bar
and throat heat-flux levels up
to 160 MW/m2. At a nozzle
expansion ratio of 5, the
chamber is attached to a
tubular thin-wall nozzle
composed of 1080 tubes,
which is much more weight
efficient than a channel-wall
configuration at the lower heat
flux SSME-MCC sketch (NASA)

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 66 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Different thrust chamber designs
Historical note on USSR thrust chambers
In the Soviet Union, tubular-wall design has never been used and channel wall combustion
chamber-nozzle configurations were used from the beginning. When the heat transfer rate is
limited (e.g., the nozzle extension or small chamber pressure engine) they often used a
variation of the channel wall design, namely the sandwich wall design: the inner liner is made
of copper-alloy, a corrugated sheet metal is used as the divider and the outer shell can be made
of steel, stainless steel or nickel-base alloy. The entire assembly is brazed and the corrugations
provide flow passages for coolant circulation

Sketch of the RD-107 engine: channel-wall design for the thrust RD-107 engine clearly showing
chamber and sandwich-wall design for the nozzle extension (NASA) the copper alloy inner liner
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 67 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Different thrust chamber designs
Moon race rocket engines: F-1 (first stage of Saturn V, that brought 12 men on the moon)
Main characteristics:
• propellant: LOX /kerosene (RP-1)
• cycle: gas-generator (open cycle)
• chamber pressure: 70 bar
• thrust (sea level): 677 ton
(still the highest for a flown engine)
Bifurcation joint (from 178
• throttle range: N.A. to 356 Inconel X-750 tubes)
• Isp (seal level): 263 s
• exit to throat ratio: 16
• dry weight : 8,4 ton
• thrust-to-weight ratio: 94
• height: 5,8 m
• diameter: 3,7 m

Thrust chamber and nozzle extension:


• Up to 𝐴/𝐴Ì = 3:
tubular wall, double pass
• From 𝐴/𝐴Ì = 3 to 𝐴/𝐴Ì = 10:
bifurcated tubular wall, double pass Evident presence of soot
• From 𝐴/𝐴Ì = 10 to 𝐴/𝐴Ì = 16: coming from the film
cooling at ~900 K
film cooling with turbine exhaust gas
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 68 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Different thrust chamber designs
Moon race rocket engines: NK-33 (first stage of N1, that collected only 4 failures)
Main characteristics:
• propellant: LOX /kerosene (Russian blend)
• cycle: staged combustion (close cycle)
• chamber pressure: 148 bar
• thrust (sea level): 154 ton
• throttle range: 50%-105%
• Isp (seal level): 297 s
• exit to throat ratio: 27
• dry weight 1,2 ton
• thrust-to-weight ratio: 137
(one of the highest of all time)
• height: 3,7 m
• diameter: 2,0 m

Thrust chamber and nozzle extension:


• channel-wall design for the thrust
chamber and sandwich-wall
design for the nozzle extension Note the absence of visible soot in the
• copper alloy for the inner liner exhaust gas
of the thrust chamber and stainless
steel for the inner liner of the sandwich wall and the whole external jacket
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 69 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Different thrust chamber designs
Moon race rocket engines: F-1 vs NK-33


thrust

The images are in scale

With respect to the tubular-wall design of F-1 (not developed anymore), the thermo-mechanical
superiority of the channel/sandwich-wall design (and other peculiarities) of NK-33 permits to
have about the same thrust of one F-1 using 4 x NK-33 and:
• +110% chamber pressure
• +34 s (+13%) Isp
• -43% weight
• -25% volume
Clearly, going to the moon is not just a matter of propulsion!
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 70 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Regenerative cooling of LRE thrust chambers

Overview of advanced
concepts:
• Chemical stability of coolants
• High aspect ratio cooling channels
• Hot-gas side wall surface roughness
• Hot-gas side wall oxidation
• Different heat transfer mechanism in the face plate region
• Hot gas side carbon deposition
• Combustion instabilities
• Thrust chamber life
• Influence of the thrust chamber dimension on the cooling requirements
• Methods of increasing the heat transfer parameters
• Additional methods to reduce the wall heat flux
• Heat transfer in nozzle extension
• Heat transfer in gas-generators/preburners

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 71 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Overview of advanced concepts
Chemical stability of coolants
Several hydrocarbon fuels (such as RP-1) can
form carbon deposits on the inside of cooling
passages (coking), impeding the heat transfer
and raising wall temperatures. This carbon
formation depends on fuel temperature in the
cooling passages, the particular fuel, the heat
transfer, and the chamber wall material.
Kerosene coking occurs at temperatures larger
than 450 K, while pure methane does not
presents this problem when operated as rocket
coolant
RP-1 carbon deposition characterization (NASA)

Hydrazine (N2H4) and its related compounds, mono-methyl-hydrazine (MMH) and


unsymmetrical-di-methyl-hydrazine (UDMH), can exothermically decompose at temperatures
as low as 370 K in case of N2H4 and 490 K in case of UDMH and under some conditions this
decomposition can be a violent detonation. Hydrazine and its related components reacts with
many materials: it is compatible with steels while copper alloys must be avoided

Hydrogen is always supercritical in the channels and is an excellent coolant, has a high specific
heat (low temperature gain in the cooling system), and is chemically stable (it leaves no
residues)
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 72 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Overview of advanced concepts
High aspect ratio cooling channels
Channel wall design permits the Cut of the Vulcain
construction of high aspect ratio thrust chamber wall
cooling channels (height to base made of copper alloy
liner and galvanic
ratio up to 10) deposited Nickel outer
shell (5)
This geometry leads to a larger
number of channels and longer fins
and both effects will increase the
cooling heat transfer area.

(NASA)
The limits for the liner walls
thickness are mainly given by the
requirements of conventional
milling tools. To date thicknesses
of less than 0.5 mm are hardly Effect on cooling channel aspect ratio on wall temperature (ASTRIUM)
achievable
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 73 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Overview of advanced concepts
Hot-gas side wall surface roughness
Surface roughness can have a large effect on the heat
transfer coefficient and thus on the wall heat flux
(which can be increased by a factor up to 2) and wall
temperature. In addition, it is generally measured that
hot-gas side surface roughness increases with chamber Typical SSME-MCC heating evolution with test
run-time. Major surface roughness on the hot-gas side duration –up to 10% increase in 300 sec.- (NASA)
may have dramatic consequences. In fact, if the nozzle
inner wall has a flow obstruction or a wall protrusion,
then the kinetic gas energy is locally converted back
into thermal energy essentially equal to the stagnation
temperature and pressure in the combustion chamber.
Since this would lead to local overheating and failure
of the wall, nozzle inner walls have to be smooth.
Hot-gas side wall oxidation Typical SSME-MCC hot spots (NASA)

Since the rates of chemical oxidizing reactions between the hot gas and the wall material can
increase dramatically with wall temperature, cooling also helps to reduce the oxidation of the
wall material and the rate at which walls would be eaten away. The oxidation problem can be
minimized not only by limiting the wall temperature, but also by burning the liquid propellants
at a mixture ratio where the percentage of aggressive gases in the hot gas (such as oxygen) is
very small, and by coating certain wall materials with an oxidation-resistant coating
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 74 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Overview of advanced concepts
Different heat transfer mechanism in the face plate region
Comparisons of analytical results with experimental heat transfer data obtained on rocket thrust
chambers have often shown disagreement. Major deviations generally affect the face plate region
because each injector configuration produces different combustion characteristics. This results in
deviations from calculations based on the assumption of homogeneous product gases (as in the
Bartz’s equations)
In addition, assumption of purely radial heat flow has been made. In reality, circumferential
variations are present, especially in the injector region. Peaks of heat flux result in longitudinal
discolorations (streaks) of the inner surface of the chamber after a firing
Evidence of multi-
dimensional
environment (and
also wall
oxidation) in a
combustion
chamber (NASA)

(NASA)

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 75 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Overview of advanced concepts

Hot gas side carbon deposition

In the case of the LOX/RP-1, carbon solids are deposited on


the chamber walls. After a firing, the carbon gives the
interior of the thrust chamber the appearance of being freshly
painted black. The carbon deposition has a low thermal
conductivity, decreases with hot-gas velocity, and at
chamber pressures larger than 140 bar carbon deposition is
almost negligible

The carbon deposit thermal resistance when 𝑝./ ~70 bar can (NASA)
be as high as 7000 cm2K/kW while the material thermal
resistance ∆𝐿 /𝑘> can be as low as (in case of copper alloy
structure) 10 cm2K/kW. The equivalent material thermal
resistance is practically the one of the carbon deposit
(∆𝐿 /𝑘> |;ù =10+7000 ≈ 7000 cm2K/kW) and thus the hot-gas
side wall temperature 𝑇>/ greatly increases (although the
carbon deposit withstands higher temperatures than metal
alloys and thus may protect the metal liner)

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 76 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Overview of advanced concepts

Combustion instabilities

If combustion instabilities occur, they


can very quickly cause excessive
pressure vibration forces (which may
break engine parts) or excessive heat
transfer (which may melt thrust
chamber parts). The high-frequency
tangential modes appear to be the
most damaging: heat transfer rates
often increases 4 to 10 times and the
pressure peaks are about twice as
high as with stable operation.

Evidence of enhanced heat transfer and large shear stresses


at the injector interface (AIAA-LPTC)

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 77 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Overview of advanced concepts
Thrust chamber life
The thermal gradients (both transient and
stationary) cause severe thermal strain and Throat section
thus local yield point excess (i.e., plastic of SSME-MCC
showing
deformations), such that the wall thins and thinned hot-gas
the formation of progressive cracks after wall (NASA)
successive runs is possible. This limits the
thrust chamber life and number of starts or
temperature cycles of a thrust chamber

Vulcain thrust
chamber liner
with typical
longitudinal
failures (5)

(NASA)

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 78 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Overview of advanced concepts
In particular, metal alloys are subjected by:
• reduction of the mechanical properties (i.e.,
yield and ultimate tensile strengths and
elasticity modulus) with temperature

“NARloy Z” (CuAgZr) elasticity modulus ( NASA) “NARloy Z” (CuAgZr) yield and ultimate strengths ( NASA)

• creep: plastic deformation under the influence of mechanical stresses (also below the yield
strength of the material); creep is more severe in materials that are subjected to heat for long
periods
• fatigue: the weakening and damaging caused by repeatedly applied loads. The nominal
maximum stress values that cause such damage may be much less than the strength of the
material (i.e., the ultimate tensile strength limit, or the yield strength limit)

No existing materials combine good creep and fatigue properties at elevated temperatures
and thus the strength of materials decreases with increasing temperatures
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 79 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Overview of advanced concepts
Aside the discussed static pressure and thermal stresses, the thrust chamber material is exposed
to additional loads which have an impact on the engine life:

• mechanical loads such as pressure fluctuations or mechanical vibrations of various sources


• high temperature fatigue (particularly relevant for restartable engine)
• high temperature creep (particularly relevant for long firing)
• chemical attack at the surface by OH or other radicals or a simple oxidation through
exposure to oxygen rich gases
• material weakening by hydrogen embrittlement

Example: the SSME have a expected


design life of 55 missions (i.e., 7,5 hr
operation). In reality, the average
achieved life is 7,3 missions and after
3-4 missions the engine is replaced
for heavy maintenance. The great
difference between expected and
achieved life is also due to the actual
thermo-mechanical environment

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 80 ( ASTRIUM) Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Overview of advanced concepts
Influence of the thrust chamber dimension on the cooling requirements

For a small rocket engine, the integrated heat flux over the entire inner surface is below 2% of
the heat of combustion. This percentage is smaller for larger rocket engines. In fact, for constant
chamber pressure 𝑝./ , increasing the thrust chamber dimension (i.e., increasing the throat
diameter 𝐷Ì and thus the thrust F = 𝐶ÿ 𝑝./ 𝐴Ì ) implies that:

• the heat of combustion 𝑄Q increases with 𝐷Ìc


𝑝./ 𝐴Ì
𝑄Q ~𝑚̇/ = ∗
~𝐷Ìc
𝐶

• the heat transfer rate absorbed by the coolant 𝑄â (i.e., the integrated wall heat flux) increases
with 𝐷Ì.,Â
.,Â
𝑝./
𝑄â ~𝐿𝐷Ì 𝑞>Ì ~𝐿𝐷Ì .,c ~𝐷Ì.,Â
𝐷Ì
(note that the chamber length L is considered constant because the time required for complete
combustion does not appreciably change with chamber dimension)

This implies that:


• cooling is relatively easier in large-thrust engines
• the hypothesis of one dimensional adiabatic flow for the hot-gas is valid
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 81 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Overview of advanced concepts
Moreover, the heat of combustion 𝑄Q and the heat transfer rate absorbed by the coolant 𝑄â can
be expressed as:

𝑄Q ~𝑚̇/ and 𝑄Q ~𝐷Ìc

𝑄â = 𝑚̇â ¤ ∆𝐻â ~ 𝑚
Ṙ / ∆𝑇â and 𝑄â ~𝐷Ì.,Â
Å̇6 ~Å̇¸

The coolant temperature gain is thus proportional to:

1
∆𝑇â ~
𝐷Ìw,c

That is, the larger the engine the smaller the temperature gain. This is important when the
maximum permissive coolant temperature has to be limited (for kerosene carbon deposition at
wall or for safety reasons with hydrazine). Moreover, this also suggests that expander cycle
engines (where the larger the coolant temperature gain the larger the chamber pressure) are
more efficient if the thrust is limited (small engines)

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 82 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Overview of advanced concepts
Note that thrust chamber dimensions are also subjected to other limitations, e.g.:
• Sufficient residence time in order to have adequate mixing, evaporation and complete
combustion (that is, high 𝑐 ∗ efficiency)
• Low hot-gas pressure drop (that is, to limit the decrease of the stagnation pressure and thus to
avoid specific impulse loss – this loss becomes appreciable when the combustion chamber
area is less than 3 times the throat area)

Example: SSME-MCC (version Block IIA @ Nominal Power Level):

• the heat of combustion of one kg of hot-gas products at chamber pressure 𝑝./ = 197.5 bar
originating from liquid oxygen and hydrogen at the mixture ratio O/F = 6 is 𝐻Q = 10,6 MJ/kg
(obtained under chemical equilibrium condition). The rate of the heat of combustion is:
kg MJ
𝑄Q = 𝑚̇/ ¤ 𝐻Q = 501.6 ¤ 10,6 = 5317 MW ≃ 5,3 GW
s kg
(Italian average electric power consumption is ~ 40 𝐺𝑊)

• the wall heat transfer rate entering the coolant (hydrogen) is:
𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝐽 𝑘𝐽
𝑄â = 𝑚̇â ¤ ∆𝐻â = 13,15 ¤ W4079,9 − 673,5 [ = 44,8 𝑀𝑊 −−→ 𝑄â = 0,008𝑄Q
𝑠 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔
;‘=Ì ;M̵´@Eu =M@;Ì ;M̵´@Eu
(EY•.ª ë´à (EY•Â× ë´à
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 83 {YcªH Z) {YHw Z) Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Overview of advanced concepts
Methods of increasing the heat transfer parameters

• ℎ/ (𝒉𝒈 ↑ ⇛ 𝒒𝒘 ↑ and 𝑻𝒘𝒉 ↑)


• chamber pressure
• wall roughness (NASA)
• longitudinal ribs (in this case the increment is not necessarily of ℎ/ , but of the gas side
area 𝐴/ and thus of total heat transfer rate (𝑞/ +𝑞à )𝐴/ )
Note: increasing the hot-gas side heat transfer coefficient may be useful for increasing the
coolant enthalpy gain (∆𝐻â = (𝑞/ +𝑞à )𝐴/ /𝑚̇â ), e.g., in the expander-cycle engines. In this
case, the total extracted heat can be augmented also with longer cylindrical part of the
combustion chamber

• ℎâ (𝒉𝑳 ↑ ⇛ 𝒒𝒘 ↑ and 𝑻𝒘𝒉 ↑)


• coolant velocity
VINCI (ASTRIUM)
• wall roughness
• high-aspect-ratio-cooling-channels (that is, increasing the area ratio 𝐴â /𝐴/ )
Note: increasing coolant heat transfer could result in an excessive coolant pressure drop

• 𝑘> /∆𝐿 (𝒌𝒘 /∆𝑳 ↑ ⇛ 𝒒𝒘 ↑ and 𝑻𝒘𝒉 ↑)


• high conductivity material
• thin structures
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 84 (NASA) Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Overview of advanced concepts
Additional methods to reduce the wall heat flux
• Liquid (generally the fuel) or gaseous (generally the fuel or a fuel-rich “warm”-gas) films on
the inner surface supplied by continuous injection through either a porous wall or small
orifices
• Propellant mixture ratio far from stoichiometric condition in the region near the wall,
supplied by appropriately modified injector orifices (the heat flux is strongly sensitive to the
injector design)
• Refractory insulating non-metallic liners
or thermal barrier coating (thickness of
the order of tens of µ𝑚 in order to have
“high” temperature in the refractory
material and “low” temperature in the
metallic liner). These materials (generally
ceramics like silicon carbide –SiC-) are
characterized by:
• low thermal conductivity
• low thermal expansion
• high melting or sublimation
temperature
• high ultimate strength From (5)
• chemical resistance to oxidization
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 85 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Overview of advanced concepts
Heat transfer in nozzle extension
It is often advantageous to use a different cooling method for the downstream part of the
diverging nozzle section, because its heat transfer rate per unit area is usually much lower than
in the chamber or the converging nozzle section, particularly with nozzles of large area ratio.
These methods are typically:
• radiation cooling (e.g, AJ10-190 in niobium alloy –Space Shuttle OMS-; RL-10B-2 in C-C – i.e.,
carbon fibers in a carbon matrix; Aestus in Haynes 25 –i.e., a Co/Ni/Cr/W metal alloy)
• ablative cooling (e.g., RS-68 in silica phenolic, LR87-AJ-5 and LR91-AJ-5 –Titan II engines-)
• film cooling with turbine discharge gas (e.g., F-1, J-2, Vulcain 2)
• dump cooling (e.g., Vulcain 2)
RS-68

Aestus

Regenerative cooling Radiative cooling Regenerative cooling Ablative cooling


(thrust chamber) (nozzle extension) (thrust chamber) (nozzle extension)

𝑇>,Å´‘ ~
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 86 1400 K Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Overview of advanced concepts
Heat transfer in gas-generators/preburners
In a gas-generator or staged combustion rocket engine type the hot combustion gases that drive
the turbine (with rotating speed up to 50000 rpm) are burned in a separate combustion chamber
(referred to as gas generator or preburner, respectively). The higher the gas temperature at
turbine inlet the lower the required turbine flow (of great relevancy for gas generator engine)
State of the art turbine blade materials
(such as single crystals which have been
unidirectionally solidified) and special
alloys can allow turbine inlet temperatures
up to 1400-1600 K; however, reliability and
cost considerations have kept actual
turbine inlet temperatures at conservative
values, such as 900 to 950 K, using lower
cost steel alloy as the material. Such
temperatures, which are obtained with
mixture ratios far from stoichiometric
(usually fuel rich), are sufficiently low, so
that the combustion chamber and the hot
turbine hardware (blades, nozzles,
manifolds, or disks) still have sufficient Measurements of static stress to cause rupture after 100 hours
(typically the “stress to density ratio” is the relevant variable) (1)
strength without needing forced cooling
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 87 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Regenerative cooling of LRE thrust chambers

Experimental
characterization of hot-
gas side heat transfer

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 88 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Experimental characterization of hot-gas side
heat transfer
The most adopted apparatus to measure the hot-gas side heat transfer coefficient is the water-
cooled thrust chamber (also referred to as calorimetric thrust chamber). The hot-gas side part of
the engine is equal to the practical one (eventually in scale). The test engine is divided into
circular sections that are cooled by water

(DLR)

This apparatus permits to have reliable estimations of the convective heat transfer coefficient
because it is a weak function of the wall temperature. That is, same hot-gas flows have same
convective heat transfer coefficients even if the wall temperature is different due to the use of
different cooling systems and fluids (e.g., water in the circular sections of the calorimetric
chamber and one of the propellants in the regenerative cooling system of the actual thrust
chamber)
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 89 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Experimental characterization of hot-gas side
heat transfer

The procedure to characterize the hot-gas side heat transfer coefficient is:

• the average heat flux in the section 𝑞/ is measured from the increase in water
temperature from inlet to outlet
• the adiabatic wall temperature 𝑇>´ is estimated (e.g., using a one-dimensional model for
the hot-gas expansion and a recovery factor)

• the hot-gas side wall temperature 𝑇>µ can be measured using thermocouples in the
material (eventually more than one in the radial direction, also to evaluate the local 𝑞/ if
the material thermal conductivity is known)

Then, the average heat transfer coefficient in the section is computed as:

𝑞/
ℎ/ =
𝑇>´ − 𝑇>µ

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 90 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Experimental characterization of hot-gas side
heat transfer
Hot-gas side convective heat transfer can be characterized using subscale rocket thrust
chambers (i.e., making use of scaling techniques)

• Scaling is defined as the ability to design new combustion devices with predictable
performance on the basis of test experience with specifically scaled hardware (mainly in
terms of dimensions, flow rate, and pressure). This approach is the only way to evaluate
novel and innovative designs by hot-fire test with considerably lower development cost

• Particularly relevant in this context is the dimensional analysis, where variables that may
influence the system are combined into non-dimensional groups. Scaling is obtained by
keeping these groups constant between the subscale and the full-scale devices

• Scaling of hot-gas side convective heat transfer (mainly the hot gas side heat transfer
coefficient) can be achieved by means of subscale calorimetric thrust chambers

• A beneficial effect of using subscale thrust chambers is that measurement accuracy of heat
flux deteriorates with increasing thrust chamber dimension (i.e., larger thrust, pressure,
vibrations, heat flux, temperature gradients, etc.)

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 91 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Experimental characterization of hot-gas side
heat transfer
Techniques to scale the hot-gas side heat transfer coefficient are illustrated considering the
oxygen/hydrogen SSME main combustion chamber (MCC) liner development program (during
the 1970s) as an example

A subscale water-cooled
calorimetric chamber was
used to measure the heat
flux at different sections.
The nominal thrust level
was 40 klbf (17.8 ton), that is
approximately 1/10 scale,
with respect to thrust, of the
full-scale SSME. The throat
diameter was 84 mm while
full-scale SSME diameter is
262 mm. Injection elements
are 600 and 61, respectively,
but the geometry of the
injection element was
identical
(NASA)
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 92 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Experimental characterization of hot-gas side
heat transfer
The water-cooled calorimeter chamber had 58 independent coolant circuits, each with separate
temperature and pressure measurements

The subscale chamber had the same combustion chamber length (injector face to throat) of 356
mm, throat convergence ramp angle, throat contour radius of curvature, combustor contraction
ratio (combustion chamber to throat area) of 2,96, and nozzle expansion ratio (exit to throat
area) of 5 as the full-scale MCC

Heat flux profiles have been acquired


for chamber pressures between 86 and
114 bar. The maximum allowable
chamber pressure for the calorimeter
chamber was limited by the throat
region burnout heat flux of 106,3
MW/m2

(NASA)
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 93 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Experimental characterization of hot-gas side
heat transfer
The average heat flux in each section 𝑞/ is measured from the increase in water temperature
from inlet to outlet

Heat flux profile 𝑞/ for a test with p.4 = 108.7 bar and O/F = 6 (total heat load was 9079 kW) (3)

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 94 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Experimental characterization of hot-gas side
heat transfer

The (average) hot gas heat transfer coefficient in each of the 58 circumferential cooling circuit
was calculated as:

𝑞/
ℎ/ =
𝑇>´ − 𝑇>µ

where 𝑞/ and 𝑇>µ are experimentally measured while the 𝑇>´ is calculated using a recovery
factor and one-dimensional chemical equilibrium at the appropriate test chamber pressure and
mixture ratio

These data were used to predict the heat transfer coefficient in the same chamber at the
maximum SSME chamber pressure condition. For each axial location, ℎ/ was scaled from p./w =
108,7 bar (subscale condition) to p./c = 204,7 bar (full-scale conditions) by:

.,Â
p./c
ℎ/c = ℎ/w
p./w

ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 95 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana


Experimental characterization of hot-gas side
heat transfer

experimental profile of ℎ/ at 𝑝./ = 108,7 bar (subscale condition)


and
scaled profile of ℎ/ at 𝑝./ = 204,7 bar (full-scale condition) (3)
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 96 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Experimental characterization of hot-gas side
heat transfer
Full-scale SSME heat transfer coefficient at 𝑝./ = 204,7 bar:

• From the injector face to ~127 mm downstream, ℎ/ was the same as the scaled value from
𝑝./ = 108,7 bar (subscale condition) to 𝑝./ = 204,7 bar (full-scale condition) because the
injector elements were the same and heat transfer rates near the injector were then primarily
influenced by the distance from the injector

• Further downstream, where heat transfer rates are primarily convective (velocity driven), the
full-scale ℎ/ corresponded to axial locations where the hot gas Mach number 𝑀 was the same
as in the calorimetric chamber

Note: this approach is different from using the scale law:

., .,×
𝑝./ 𝐴Ì 𝐴Ì
ℎ/ ~ .,c where = 𝑓(𝑀)
𝐷Ì 𝐴 𝐴

In particular, the throat diameter effect is not taken into account (that is, the scaling due to
absolute dimensions of the chambers is ignored and thus ℎ/ could be over-predicted). In
particular, for the throat diameter:
• 𝐷Ì = 84,1 mm for the subscale chamber
• 𝐷Ì = 261,75 mm for the full-scale SSME chamber
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 97 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Experimental characterization of hot-gas side
heat transfer

Estimated full-scale SSME profile of ℎ/ (3)


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Bibliography
This presentation is mainly derived from:

1) Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Propulsion, Second Edition, Philip Hill and


Carl Peterson, published by Pearson Education, Inc.

2) Rocket Propulsion Elements, Seventh Edition, by George P. Sutton and Oscar


Biblarz, published by John Wiley & Sons

3) Scaling Techniques for Design, Development, and Test, C.E. Dexter et al., In
Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics Series, Vol. 200, published by AIAA

4) Many NASA technical reports from the 60s, 70s, and 80s and devoted to
theoretical and experimental studies on rocket engine thrust chambers

5) Advanced Rocket Engines, Oskar J. Haidn, In Educational Notes RTO-EN-AVT-


150, Paper 6, published by NATO

Cover illustration by NASA: Space Shuttle Main Engine – Main Combustion Chamber
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Bibliography

Other relevant references are:

a) Modern Engineering for Design of Liquid-Propellant Rocket Engines, Fourth


printing, Dieter K. Huzel and David H. Huang, published by AIAA

b) Rocket Propulsion and Spaceflight Dynamics, J.W. Cornelisse, H.F.R. Schöyer,


and K.F. Wakker, published by Pitman Publishing

c) Space Propulsion Analysis and Design, R.W. Humble, G.N. Henry, and W.J.
Larson, published by McGraw-Hill

Notes:
• the figures that are not expressively cited are mainly taken from the web

• Russian rockets are barely represented in this presentation only because of the
poor data and available literature
ASI UNCLASSIFIED - pag 100 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana

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