Annular aerospike nozzle with widely-spaced thrust chambers, engine including the annular aerospike nozzle, and vehicle including the engine
An annular aerospike nozzle for a vehicle, such as an upper stage rocket, is disclosed. The annular aerospike nozzle includes a centerbody and a plurality of thrust chambers spaced around the centerbody. Each thrust chamber has a throat and a nozzle portion extending aft of the throat. The nozzle portion has an exit dimension D exit at an aft end. Each thrust chamber is spaced away from adjacent thrust chambers by a spacing distance D space , such that D space ≥M*D exit , where M≥1.
1. An annular aerospike nozzle, comprising:
a centerbody;
a plurality of thrust chambers spaced around the centerbody, each thrust chamber including:
a throat; and
a nozzle portion extending aft of the throat, the nozzle portion having
an exit dimension D exit at an aft end thereof;
wherein each thrust chamber is spaced away from adjacent thrust chambers by a spacing distance D space , such that D space ≥M*D exit , where M≥1.
2. The annular aerospike nozzle of claim 1 , wherein the centerbody has a circular contour, and the plurality of thrust chambers are spaced around the circular contour of the centerbody.
3. The annular aerospike nozzle of claim 2 , wherein the spacing distance D space is defined as an arc length between adjacent thrust chambers.
4. The annular aerospike nozzle of claim 2 , wherein the spacing distance D space is defined as a chord length between adjacent thrust chambers.
5. The annular aerospike nozzle of claim 1 , wherein the thrust chambers are uniformly spaced around the centerbody.
6. The annular aerospike nozzle of claim 1 , wherein the exit dimension D exit of the nozzle portion of each thrust chamber is a diameter.
7. An engine, comprising:
a centerbody;
a plurality of thrust chambers spaced around the centerbody, each thrust chamber including:
a high pressure chamber that generates a gas for thrust;
a nozzle portion that extends aft of the high pressure chamber and exhausts the gas generated by the high pressure chamber;
the nozzle portion having an exit dimension D exit at an aft end thereof; and
a throat connecting the high pressure chamber to the nozzle portion;
wherein each thrust chamber is spaced away from adjacent thrust chambers by a spacing distance D space , such that D space ≥M*D exit , where M≥1.
8. A vehicle, comprising:
an engine including a centerbody and a plurality of thrust chambers spaced around the centerbody, each thrust chamber including:
a high pressure chamber that generates a gas for thrust,
a nozzle portion that extends aft of the high pressure chamber and exhausts the gas generated by the high pressure chamber, the nozzle portion having an exit dimension D exit at an aft end, and
a throat connecting the high pressure chamber to the nozzle portion;
wherein each thrust chamber is spaced away from adjacent thrust chambers by a spacing distance D space , such that D space ≥M*D exit , where M≥1.
9. The vehicle of claim 8 , further comprising a thruster mount positioned at an aft end of a main body of the vehicle, the thruster mount having a plurality of openings extending therethrough in a direction parallel to a centerline of the main body of the vehicle, wherein each opening is configured to receive one of the thrust chambers.
10. The vehicle of claim 9 , wherein the centerbody is non-axisymmetric relative to the centerline of the main body of the vehicle.
11. The vehicle of claim 9 , wherein the centerbody and the thruster mount define at least a portion of a heat shield.
12. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the centerbody has a circular contour, and the plurality of thrust chambers are spaced around the circular contour of the centerbody.
13. The vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the spacing distance D space is defined as an arc length between adjacent thrust chambers.
14. The vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the spacing distance D space is defined as a chord length between adjacent thrust chambers.
15. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the thrust chambers are uniformly spaced around the centerbody.
16. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the exit dimension D exit of the nozzle portion of each thrust chamber is a diameter.
17. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the vehicle is an upper stage rocket.