A

SEMINAR REPORT
ON
PISTONLESS PUMPS USED IN ROCKETS

PRESENTED BY
AMIT RATAN BISWAS
ROLL NO.-09/ME/47
REG. NO.-0901225155
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
GUIDED BY
MR.A K BHOI

CONTENT
INTRODUCTION
WHAT

IS PUMP?
NECESSECITY
WHY PISTONLESS PUMP?
WORKING OF PISTONLESS PUMP
COMPARISON B/W TURBO PUMP AND PISTONLESS
PUMP
INSTALLATION FIGURE
ADVANTAGES
APPLICATIONS
DISADVANTAGES
CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION
NASA HAS DEVELOPED A LOW COST
PISTONLESS FUEL PUMP
THIS PUMP PROVIDES INCREASED DESIGN
FLEXIBILITY & INCREASE DAMAGE AND FAULT
TOLERANCE
ABSENCE OF PISTON LEADS TO LESS FRICTION
LOSSES& HENCE IMPROVES EFFICIENCY OF ENGINE
CONSIDERABLY

WHAT IS PUMP?

Pump is a device which converts

mechanical
energy into hydraulic energy

Principle: A partial vacuum created when

internal parts of pump receives
mechanical energy

Oil is forced into pump due to atmospheric

pressure and suction created by pumping
element

Oil is squeezed b/w pump elements

which increases pressure of fluid and
then is forced out of pump and the
cycle continues.

SECITY
Turbo pumps used in rocket are
heavy , containing more rotating parts
, thus there are more friction losses
and more fuel consumption, so engine
efficiency decreases. Also its
maintenance is very complex. Piston
less pumps overcome these
drawbacks of turbo pumps.

WHY PISTONLESS
PUMP?????
Turbo pumps have a
reputation for being
extremely hard to design to
get optimum performance
Low efficiency ONLY 55%
Weight of pump is high
hence
Undesirable to use.
TO OVERCOME THESE
DIFFICULTIES PISTON
LESS PUMP WAS

TYPICAL TURBO PUMP SETUP

WORKING OF PISTONLESS PUMP

It consists of main tank
and two pumping chambers
. The pump starts with both
chambers filled.
Each one being
alternately refilled and
pressurized .
One chamber is
pressurized, and fluid is
delivered to the rocket
engine from that
chamber(Step 1).

Once the level

gets low in one
chamber, the
other
chamber is
pressurized;

Flow is thereby
established from
both sides during a
short period until
full flow is
established from
the other chamber.
Then the nearly
empty chamber is
vented and refilled

Finally the cycle

repeats. This
results in steady
flow and
pressure. The
pump is powered
by pressurized
gas which acts
directly on the
fluid

PUMP
VELOCITY

1000 m/s

2000 m/s

4000 m/s

6000 m/s

Propellant
mass(kg)

1511

3669

11462

30357

Tank mass

45.6

110.8

346

916.4

Helium and
tank mass

22.7

55.2

172.3

456.4

Total
propulsion
system

1582

3838

11983

31732

VELOCITY

1000 m/s

2000 m/s

4000 m/s

6000 m/s

Propellant
mass(kg)

1421

3407

10273

25543

Tank mass

7.2

17.1

51.7

128.5

Total
propulsion
system

1485

3553

10703

26605

MASS
SAVING (%)

6.1

7.4

10.7

16.2

INSTALLATION FIGURE
The high pressure cylinder
used for pressurizing fuel is
installed at the bottom of
the rocket , shown in green
color in the figure .And
above this cylinder further
assembly is mounted . Thus
the figure shows that the
installation is very easy as
compared to that of the
turbo pump.

ADVANTAGES
ALL THE HARDWARE IN THE PUMP CONSISTS OF
PRESSURE VESSEL SO THE WEIGHT IS LOW
LESS MOVING PARTS , HENCE LUBRICATION
REQUIRED IS QUITE LOW
DESIGN IS SIMPLE COMPARED TO TURBOPUMPS
tr

APPLICATIONS

DEEP SPACE PROPULSION - NASA has a need for high

power propulsion to land spacecraft on the moons
of Jupiter and beyond. This pump would allow these
missions to go forward due to lower weight of the fuel
tanks.

X- PRIZE VEHICLE FUEL PUMP APPLICATION- For Xprize vehicles, a fuel pump will reduce the cost
and increase the safety and reliability of the
vehicles.
So piston less pumps are suitable for these
vehicles.

DISADVANTAGES
They cannot pump high pressure
fuel
A gas generator cycle is also
difficult
to integrate with piston less pump
The generated gas must be
chemically
compatible with both the
propellants
This gas generator lowers the

CONCLUSION
The piston less pump has shown to
offer substencial performance
and flexibility increases for space
vehicles
The pump design is not complex
It can be developed at low cost
Hence its an EMERGING TECHNOLGY
in the field of rocket

QUESTIONS????
?

THANK
YOU