To increase liquid rocket engines (LREs) lifetime capability and allow for reusability applications, the efficient evaluation of the most critical subcomponents' remaining useful life plays a vital role. Regeneratively cooled combustion chamber (CC) wall must withstand extremely high loads emerging from a massive temperature gradient between the hot gas and the low temperature of the coolant. The combined loading and unloading operations, together with high temperature and rate dependent inelastic strain, significantly lessen the combustion chamber inner liner life. Within the presented research, the post-processing model was developed for low cycle fatigue (LCF) evaluation of the reusable LRE's combustion chamber walls. The proposed damage accumulation model is based on the amalgamation of Bonora-Gentile-Pirondi ( 2004) and Dufailly-Lemaitre (1995) methods, and it incorporates ductile and brittle damage components which are embedded in the post-processing method. Moreover, the required numerical calculation time is further decreased on account of the proposed routine which allows for analysis of only two initial numerically acquired FE cycles. The obtained results based on the developed method combined with coupled thermal-structural quasi 2D Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of the nozzle throat cross-section, were confirmed to be in good agreement with the validation data acquired from the M51 thermo-mechanical laboratory site at DLR Lampoldshausen. The proposed model can be successfully applied for a quick evaluation of the remaining useful life of the CC wall for various rocket engine architectures.
Reusability of LREs in Europe is increasingly attracting the attention of scientific community and industry with leading projects such as THEMIS, CALLISTO (reusable demonstrators for vertical take-off and landing (VTVL)) and Ariane Next -all powered by the reusable cryogenic Oxygen/Methane (LOX/LCH4) engine "Prometheus". To enable further expansion and cost-effectiveness of the reusability technology for future liquid rocket engines (LREs), research on critical engine components such as turbopumps is crucial. Therefore, within our research we focus on the turbine blade investigation for reusable LRE applications including high cycle fatigue (HCF) and low cycle fatigue (LCF). Validation of defined applied analytical and numerical techniques is established through the Liquid Upper stage deMonstrator ENgine (LUMEN)'s, developed at DLR Lamplodshausen for enhanced expertise in the complete cycle operation for various engine applications, as well as to empower validation studies of the operational conditions to which turbopump components, such as turbine blades, are subjected.Turbine blades are exposed to large thermo-mechanical cyclic strains emerging from an increased temperature driving gas combined with a fast start-up sequence as well as a large rotational speed -essential for acquiring high performance and structural mass efficiency for LREs. Therefore, in addition to bending & torsion as well as thermal gradient and centrifugal forces, it is critical to consider creep effects in durability studies.To forecast the turbine blade fatigue life, analytical (0-D) and numerical approaches for a selected test case are studied. Within the proposed method, a BLISK is assessed for the most severe loading condition considering HCF load by a modified Goodman method, along with a Coffin-Manson based approach for LCF contribution. Each operational cycle under constant maximum loading condition is applied to study the creep effect. As a result, an enhanced fatigue life prediction method including both creep and fatigue conditions for a turbine blade is obtained. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.