Summary: | In the radial turbine preliminary design for an expander rocket engine, a comparison was made with axial turbine used in Pratt & Whitney RL10 engine.
One of the primary requirements of a liquid propellant rocket engine is the generation of a high thrust, which depends on both the mass flow rate of the propellant and the pressure in the thrust chamber.
In expander-cycle engines, which are the subject of the present study, the liquid propellant is first compressed using centrifugal turbo-pumps, then it is used to cool the combustion chamber and the nozzle and, once vaporized, it flows through the turbines used to drive the turbo-pumps.
The aim was to demonstrate the greater efficiency of the radial turbine with a reduction of the pressure ratio with respect to the axial turbine.
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