CFD Evaluation of a New Centrifugal Pump Concept for Rocket Propulsion

Abstract

The rocket propulsion system provides forces to a flight shuttle so that it can accelerate or decelerate and overcome the drag force or change direction. The simplest propulsion system can be made using pressurized propellant tanks with supply of compressed gas but, for minimum weight design requirements, a system with propellant pumps satisfies better. This paper aims to evaluate the performances of a new centrifugal pump concept using computational fluid dynamics. The paper is based on an innovative pump design consisting of two centrifugal stages superposed into a novel and promising configuration. The CFD analysis is performed on 3D domains by using the CFD commercial code ANSYS CFX. The numerical solvers used are pressure based using the SIMPLE method with RANS. The post processing of the results delivers speed, pressure and temperature distribution in the field. A classic two stage centrifugal pump is compared with the new stage-over-stage design, where the axial length is considerably reduced. Regarding the total efficiency, in both cases its value is around 97%. This paper presents an innovative geometry for centrifugal pumps, that can contribute to the improvement of rocket propulsion systems.