Nik
ACCESS: Top Secret
- Joined
- 15 July 2009
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Self-eating rocket...
quote:
New developments on a nearly century-old concept for a "self-eating" rocket engine capable of flight beyond the Earth's atmosphere could help the U.K. take a bigger bite of the space industry.
University of Glasgow engineers have built and fired the first unsupported autophage rocket engine which consumes parts of its own body for fuel. The design of the autophage engine—the name comes from the Latin word for "self-eating"—has several potential advantages over conventional rocket designs.
The engine works by using waste heat from combustion to sequentially melt its own plastic fuselage as it fires. The molten plastic is fed into the engine's combustion chamber as additional fuel to burn alongside its regular liquid propellants.
/
phys.org
Hype aside, there's a ~110 sec video with up/down throttling and a fun 'disassembly' at the end.
Actuator feeds the white 'pipe' into nozzle. Although this example uses twin liquid fuels, I can see how it may suit a near-trad 'hybrid' design. I'd surmise that free-flying example would feed by thrust pushing nozzle up casing...
quote:
New developments on a nearly century-old concept for a "self-eating" rocket engine capable of flight beyond the Earth's atmosphere could help the U.K. take a bigger bite of the space industry.
University of Glasgow engineers have built and fired the first unsupported autophage rocket engine which consumes parts of its own body for fuel. The design of the autophage engine—the name comes from the Latin word for "self-eating"—has several potential advantages over conventional rocket designs.
The engine works by using waste heat from combustion to sequentially melt its own plastic fuselage as it fires. The molten plastic is fed into the engine's combustion chamber as additional fuel to burn alongside its regular liquid propellants.
/
'Self-eating' rocket could help UK take a big bite of space industry
New developments on a nearly century-old concept for a "self-eating" rocket engine capable of flight beyond the Earth's atmosphere could help the U.K. take a bigger bite of the space industry.
Hype aside, there's a ~110 sec video with up/down throttling and a fun 'disassembly' at the end.
Actuator feeds the white 'pipe' into nozzle. Although this example uses twin liquid fuels, I can see how it may suit a near-trad 'hybrid' design. I'd surmise that free-flying example would feed by thrust pushing nozzle up casing...
