Centrifugal impeller for a rocket engine having high and low pressure outlets
A centrifugal impeller with a single inlet and dual outlets that include a low pressure outlet and a high pressure outlet. The impeller includes low pressure blades with high pressure blades located downstream. The impeller can be shrouded or unshrouded, and can include an inner shroud that forms a flow path for the low pressure fluid and a high pressure flow path for the high pressure fluid. The impeller can include a high pressure volute and a low pressure volute that forms a dual volute with dual diffusers for both fluids.
1. A rocket engine comprising:
a main combustion chamber and a throat and an expansion nozzle for the rocket engine connected together to produce thrust from burning of a fuel with an oxidizer;
a turbine rotatably connected to a fuel impeller and an oxidizer impeller;
the fuel impeller and the oxidizer impeller each having a high pressure outlet and a low pressure outlet;
a fuel low pressure pump having an outlet connected to an inlet of the fuel impeller;
an oxidizer low pressure pump having an outlet connected to an inlet of the oxidizer impeller;
the high pressure outlets for the fuel impeller and the oxidizer impeller being connected to the main combustion chamber;
an inlet of the fuel low pressure pump connected to the low pressure outlet of the fuel impeller; and,
an inlet of the oxidizer low pressure pump connected to the low pressure outlet of the oxidizer impeller.
2. The rocket engine of claim 1 , and further comprising:
the fuel and oxidizer low pressure pumps both being jet pumps.
3. The rocket engine of claim 1 , and further comprising:
the fuel and oxidizer impeller both being a centrifugal impeller with an axial inlet and radial outlets.
4. The rocket engine of claim 1 , and further comprising:
the impellers for both the fuel impeller and the oxidizer impeller having low pressure blades integral with high pressure blades.