The “Poseidon” engine, which name comes from the fact that the flame when Methane combusts is blue, is expected to have 1300 pounds of thrust, which is capable of firing a rocket to the target height 45000 feet.
Key components of the engine:
- Like-impinging injector (top piece)
- Ablative Cooling using Phenolic liner (brown part)
- Graphite nozzle (black part)
- Stainless steel shell and engine mounts
UCI Rocket Engine Design Cross Section
Key variables:
- Chamber Pressure: 300 psi
- Specific Impulse: 276.25 seconds
- Mass Flow rate: 4.706 lb per second (2.134 kg per second)
- Thrust: 1300 lbf
- Total impulse: 9180 lbf*sec
The above key variables are derived from a flight simulation using Matlab to estimate the height of the rocket, which generates a result that exceeds the target height of 45,000 feet. Due to efficiency loss in the actual rocket, we estimate that the actual height of the rocket will be lower than this theoretical value by 10%, which puts our rocket at exactly the target height of 45,000 feet.
The rocket is expected to reach over 50,000 feet with this engine
Various analyses have been done to verify the key values of the components, including compressible mass flow rate in the nozzle, heat transfer in the chamber, pressure and thermal stress on the engine shell and mounts.
Mass Flow Rate analysis using ANSYS
Temperature Distribution along engine in Kelvin
Due to hot temperature and high pressure inside the chamber, the part is made of phenolic liner, a material when exposed to high temperature will burn and create a char layer that acts as insulation. This is known as ablative cooling, a method that does not require complicated design and is less subjected to failure.