DEIMOS Methane/Oxygen rocket engine test results
- Paper number
IAC-05-C4.3.09
- Author
Mr. Steven Engelen, Technical University of Delft (TUDelft), The Netherlands
- Coauthor
Mr. Louis Souverein, France
- Year
2005
- Abstract
This paper presents the results of the tests performed with and on the DEIMOS Liquid Methane/Oxygen rocket engine. DEIMOS is an acronym for it ‘Delft Experimental Methane Oxygen propulsion System’. It’s a project of the authors, performed with fellow students under management of DARE (it Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering). It has strong links to sustainable development, as the propellants used are one of the most promising so-called ‘green propellants’-combinations, currently under scrutiny by the industry. There has already been a paper (IAC-04-S.P.05) describing the design of the engine now under investigation, as well as its characteristics, and it included scripts for the tests. The engine would provide a theoretical design thrust of 2000 N and specific impulse of 287 seconds at a chamber pressure of 40 bar with a total mass flow of 637 g/s. The aim of the tests presented in the current paper was to verify the engine’s performance and to justify the assumptions that were made during the design, perhaps standardising them into a general set of requirements for further engine designs. Prior to the main tests, short ignition tests were performed by DARE, without any actual thrust measurements. These proved the engine casing would not fail, and that the envisaged ignition system performed its function adequately. They also provided enough confidence to perform the actual tests in an industrial test stand, which provided data on the achieved thrust, the chamber pressure, propellant mass flows, their feed pressures and temperatures, the heat flux through the chamber wall and the maximum (practically) achievable burn time. In between tests, the chamber and feed system were examined for carbon and copper deposits. The reliability of the ignition and the stability of the combustion were also investigated, as well as the reusability of the engine (which was a primary design-requirement). Both the test procedures and the results are presented here, leading to an optimisation of the design, adapting it where necessary to achieve the desired performance and to obtain more reliable engine operation. The data also provided us with new insights in general methane/oxygen engine designs, providing enough ideas for a subsequent design. The ultimate goal of this project is to have an operational rocket and to attempt an amateur altitude record.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-05-C4.3.09.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.