A heat transfer body 3 is prepared. The heat transfer body 3 forms an inner space 7 for existence of one of a higher-temperature fluid or a lower-temperature fluid. The heat transfer body 3 constitutes a heat exchanger, and is formed of a copper material as a wall surrounding the inner space 7. In the wall, a flow path through which the other of the higher-temperature fluid and the lower-temperature fluid flows is formed. By LMD treatment, an LMD layer is formed directly on an outer circumferential surface 3a of the heat transfer body 3. In the LMD treatment, a metal material is supplied to a supply position on the outer circumferential surface 3a, and the supply position is irradiated with laser light to form an LMD layer 5. An energy density of the laser light is set to melt both the metal material and the outer circumferential surface 3a.

Disclosed herein are various technologies pertinent to rocket engines, including injector, thrust chamber, and electrical turbopump devices that may be combined to provide a more efficient rocket engine. The thrust chamber may be coupled with an injector having a circular array of support columns supporting a distribution system. Liquid may be flowed from the distribution system, through the support columns, and into a combustion chamber of the thrust chamber.

Disclosed herein are various technologies pertinent to rocket engines, including injector, thrust chamber, and electrical turbopump devices that may be combined to provide a more efficient rocket engine. The electrical turbopump impeller includes a coolant bypass port fluidically connected with a coolant passage that passes through the impeller central hub and allows some of the propellant that is acted on by the impeller to bypass the impeller outlet and instead be flowed into the electrical turbopump housing so that the diverted propellant may be used to cool the various components housed within the housing such as the electric motor bearings, stator, rotor, and electronics.

A liquid rocket engine cools a thruster body by pumping propellant through cooling channels integrated in the thruster body between internal and external surfaces. One or more of the cooling channel surfaces has a variable depth along a thrust axis to mix propellant flow and destroy thermal stratification, such as a depth that varies with a repeated contiguous sinusoidal form along the thrust axis. Fuel passed through the cooling channels injects from the combustion chamber wall towards a central portion of the combustion chamber to cross impinge with oxygen injected at the combustion chamber head so that a toroidal vortex forms to enhance propellant mixing.

A coupling system is utilized to form a multi-part rocket engine thrust compartment that maintains inner channels within walls of the thrust compartment for regenerative cooling. The coupling system includes an insert joint arranged between joint faces of a first segment and a second segment. The first segment and the second segment include inner edges that, when jointed together, form an inner wall. The joint insert is installed between the first segment and the second segment after the inner wall is formed and coupled to the first segment and the second segment. The joint faces of the first segment and the second segment include extending feature to form a flow passage along with cavities at least partially defined by the joint insert.

A high temperature thermal protection systems for rockets, and associated methods, is disclosed. A representative system includes a launch vehicle having a first end and a second end generally opposite the first end. The launch vehicle is elongated along a vehicle axis extending between the first and second ends and carries a propulsion system having at least one nozzle positioned at the second end of the launch vehicle. A thermal protection apparatus positioned around the nozzle is used to provide cooling and/or insulation to the nozzle during the flight of the launch vehicle. The thermal protection apparatus can include multiple fabric layers and an insulation layer stacked and stitched together. The fabric layers can include metal alloy fibers. In representative systems, the thermal protection apparatus can further include provisions for water that saturates the insulation layer to provide further insulating and/or cooling effects.

A combustion chamber section (110) for a combustion chamber (100) for a rocket engine (10) is described, the combustion chambersection (110) comprising a combustion chamber body (120) enclosing a combustion chamber volume and having coolant channels (130) disposed therein, and at least one baffle (140) integrally formed with the combustion chamber body (120) and projecting from the combustion chamber body (120) into the interior of the combustion chamber. The at least one baffle (140) comprises at least one coolant channel (133-135) fluidly connected to at least one of the coolant channels (130) in the combustion chamber body (120). Furthermore, an additive layer manufacturing method for manufacturing such a combustion chamber section is described.

The invention relates to the field of cryogenics, and in particular to a device and a method for chilling down a cryogenic system (1). The chilldown device (100, 101) comprises a cryogenic fluid feed circuit (102, 103) and at least one atomizing nozzle (110) connected to said feed circuit (102, 103). The chilldown method includes feeding cryogenic fluid via a feed circuit (102, 103) to at least one atomizing nozzle (110) connected to the feed circuit (102, 103), spraying the cryogenic fluid through the at least one atomizing nozzle (110) as a spray (200) of cryogenic fluid, and projecting the spray (200) of cryogenic fluid against at least one zone to be cooled in the cryogenic system (1).

Devices and methods of rocket propulsion are disclosed. In one aspect, a staged combustion liquid rocket engine with preburner and turbopump unit (TPU) integrated into the structure of the combustion chamber is described. An initial propellant mixture is combusted in a preburner combustion chamber formed as an annulus around a main combustion chamber, the combustion products from the preburner driving the turbine of the TPU and subsequently injected into the main combustion chamber for secondary combustion along with additional propellants, generating thrust through a supersonic nozzle. The preburner inner cylindrical wall is shared with the outer cylindrical wall of the engine's main combustion chamber and the turbine is axially aligned with the main combustion chamber. Liquid propellants supplied to the engine are utilized for regenerative cooling of the combustion chamber and preburner, where the liquid propellants are gasified in cooling manifolds before injection into the preburner and main combustion chamber.

An air-breathing rocket engine in certain embodiments comprises an outer shell and an interior portion situated entirely within the front end of the outer shell. The interior portion includes a funnel-shaped intake and an annular primary combustion chamber between the inner front wall of the shell and the outer surface of the funnel-shaped intake. The intake has a central aperture that is in fluid communication with the throat and exhaust areas within the outer shell. A second circumferential gap is formed between the outer surface of the front inner wall and the inner surface of the front end of the outer shell and is in fluid communication with the throat and exhaust areas within the outer shell. One or more injector ports and one or more ignition ports are situated at the front end of the second circumferential gap.