Hydraulic Design of an Ultracompact Liquid Methane–Liquid Oxygen Turbopump for a Mid-Scale Thruster for Upper Stage Application

Abstract

As space missions proliferate and the payload requirements increase, the environmental impact of thrusters can no longer be considered negligible. Therefore, less impactful fuels such as methane are starting to be considered for launchers. In this paper we present a design case study for such a turbopump. Using both analytical models and Computational Fluid Dynamics techniques, we were able to reduce the size and weight of the turbopump assembly. Also, due to the elimination of some auxiliary systems, the overall efficiency was enhanced. This paper’s findings and methods can be transferred not only to launchers in its own class, but also to larger scale engines with a similar construction.

Keywords

• green propulsion
• turbopump
• methalox
• upper stage
• mid-scale thruster