Patent ID: 9151246
Filing Date: 2015-10-06
Classification: F02K,F23C,F23R

Abstract:
1. A rocket engine system comprising: a thrust chamber including walls that define a combustion section that narrows to a throat section that widens to a nozzle section, the walls including a cooling passage therein, the walls having a catalyst coating; a fuel pump; a fuel passage fluidly connecting the thrust chamber and the fuel pump, and the fuel passage splits via a flow splitter into sub-passages, with a first sub-passage leading to the combustion section of the thrust chamber and bypassing the cooling passage and a second sub-passage leading to the cooling passage of the thrust chamber; and a controller in communication with the flow splitter, wherein the controller is configured to change a ratio of flow between the sub-passages to provide sustained cracking conditions for a hydrocarbon fuel at steady-state operating conditions.