Integration of Vehicle, Propulsion System and Separation Unit Designs for a Launcher Using in-flight Oxygen Collection

Bizzarri, Didier; Hendrick, Patrick; Heyen, Georges; Ngendakumana, Philippe

doi:10.2514/6.2005-3421

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The model does not contain unrealistic hypothesis: irreversibilities in compression and heat transfer have allowed for. The only hypothesis that might be difficult to meet in practice is the perfect thermal insulation (no cooling losses) [10] which will increase the demand on the heat sink, liquid hydrogen. The sizing of the unit shows the feasibility of the concept.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Propulsion vehicle integration for reusable launcher using in-flight oxygen collection

Bizzarri

Hendrick

Heyen

et al. 2008

Aerospace Science and Technology

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The use of in-flight Oxygen Collection has shown to significantly improve space launcher performance. The conceptual approach followed by Belgian teams working on oxygen collection has been to try to widening the available design margins in order to reduce the required technological leap and limit the economical risk associated with such a development. The aim of the ESA-funded theoretical and experimental study on an air separation device is to demonstrate the possibility of performing efficient air distillation in a compact rotating column. An integration of the vehicle, propulsion system and separation unit designs is presented. The objective is to optimise the overall vehicle performance while keeping technological difficulty and system complexity at a reasonable level. Reference vehicles are presented within their specific mission profiles with an emphasis on TSTO's. Different layouts of the internal energy and mass flowsheets have been studied and were compared in order to make best use of the refrigeration capacity of the hydrogen fuel running though the propulsion system during the first phase of the flight. In those flowsheets, the separator is considered as a classical distillation tray column. That analysis provides the requirements in terms of heat exchange capacity, compression ratios and number of so-called transfer units needed in the separator. The system is intentionally kept simple to limit complexity, but the analysis is thorough and accurate, including, for example, the effect of the presence of argon. Results for a supersonic carrier are presented. A compact separation unit has been designed in order to reach those requirements. That includes internals, practical building with estimates of pressure drops, separation performance D.Bizzarri, Université libre de Bruxelles CP165/43

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…: bed dimensions computed for the base separation unit as defined in [10] . Embodying the bed in a rotating casing could increase the diameter to 1m20.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Propulsion vehicle integration for reusable launcher using in-flight oxygen collection

Bizzarri

Hendrick

Heyen

et al. 2008

Aerospace Science and Technology

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“…Nonetheless, the separator has been split in three almost identical base units with a volume of approximately 1 m 3 . These units are combined in a modular manner to build up the complete separator, which could therefore be assembled to obtain di¨erent layouts [17].…”

Section: Air Separation Plant Design Choicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The unit that has been designed and built by the team has already shown some promising results in the ¦rst tests. Furthermore, the study provided better phenomenological understanding of the encountered phenomena that allowed the prediction of the performance of a practical unit [17,23].…”

Section: Air Separation Plantmentioning

confidence: 99%

In-flight oxygen collection for a two-stage air-launch vehicle: integration of vehicle and separation cycle design

Verstraete¹,

Bizzarri²,

Hendrick³

2009

Progress in Propulsion Physics

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In- §ight oxygen collection is a very promising technique to reduce the launch costs and improve the payload capabilities of two-stage-to-orbit semireusable launchers. Using liquid hydrogen the incoming air is deeply cooled and enriched in oxygen during the cruise phase of the ¦rst stage. The liqui¦ed enriched air is stored in the second stage which is then launched into orbit. This paper gives the result of a conceptual design of a two-stage-to-orbit air launched space vehicle. The mass, aerodynamic, and propulsive characteristics of the ¦rst stage are determined and an assessment of the in §uence of the collection plant performance on the subsonic ¦rst stage is made. The results for a centrifugally enhanced destillation unit are given together with the plant cycle arrangement. Integration options for the plant into the ¦rst stage are proposed and a short description of the air separation test unit and its test bench is also given.

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Demonstration of Compact Air Separation Technology for In-Flight Oxygen Collection Space Launchers

Verstraete

Bizzarri

Hendrick

2014

Journal of Propulsion and Power

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Integration of Vehicle, Propulsion System and Separation Unit Designs for a Launcher Using in-flight Oxygen Collection

Cited by 6 publications

References 2 publications

Propulsion vehicle integration for reusable launcher using in-flight oxygen collection

Propulsion vehicle integration for reusable launcher using in-flight oxygen collection

In-flight oxygen collection for a two-stage air-launch vehicle: integration of vehicle and separation cycle design

Demonstration of Compact Air Separation Technology for In-Flight Oxygen Collection Space Launchers

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