This idea is an extreme thought on the rocket engine design. For a rocket that uses cryogenic propellent, the propellent need to be heated and converted to gas before being used by the turbopump and the combustion chamber. This is usually done using the heat exchangers mounted over the rocket’s bell-shaped nozzle and the combustion chamber. I thought of using a rocket long tubular combustion chamber. This tubular form will be surrounded by an insulated tubular structure where the propellent passes through. One side with the fuel and the other with the LOX. LOX is consumed more. Therefore, it will not be a 50-50 division.
The tubular combustion chamber will be covered inside by solid booster propellent. This will be a thin coating. The objective is to fire the solid propellent to heat the combustion chamber and the liquid propellent to start the liquid rocket engine. The propellent touching the combustion chamber will be isolated from the rest of the propellent to limit the heat exchange to the propellent pumped to the injectors only. Some of the heated propellent will be diverted to the turbopumps to run it. The turbopumps will be cooled by the propellent they are pumping.
Hopefully, this design will simplify the propellent heating scheme and improve the heat exchange. Additionally, long tubular combustion chamber will improve the efficiency of the engine as well.
The heat exchange between the combustion tube and the propellent will be determined by the thermal conductivity of the combustion tube. Therefore, a special alloy or laminated structure should be utilized. One final advantage of this design is the removal of heat exchangers from the rocket’s bell-shaped nozzle. This will allow altitude compensating nozzles that increase the efficiency of the rocket.
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