Pumps

Turbomachinery is the branch of engineering concerned with transforming mechanical energy between a rotor and a fluid or vice versa. Higher altitude flights require larger fuel and oxidizer tanks which have lower walls to account for high pressure fluids. LRI is using turbomachinery to deliver pressurized fuel and oxidizer to our engine to eliminate the mass cost of large tanks long terms. Our team is currently centered around the creation of a radial flow, centrifugal partial emission water pump, in which fluid entering rotates about a rotor multiple times before leaving through a radial outlet. A centrifugal pump allows for a higher pressure to be achieved while maintaining the desired flow velocity, which will enable us in the future to deliver high pressure fuel and oxidizer to our engine.

Designing a pump against potential failures involves sealing to prevent fluid leakage from the volute which is where fluid passes through. It also involves preventing rotor failure, which includes bearing lubrication and rotordynamic analysis.

Reaching a target pressure and mass flow rate requires testing as these metrics depend on the rotational speed of the rotor and the system friction. This information will be determined by collecting multiple data points along multiple pump characteristic curves, each corresponding to a unique impeller rotational speed measured in rotations per minute (rpm).

Power electronics are what make our rocket's fuel pumps possible.

We acquired two of the largest motor-ESC packages from one of our sponsors, Castle Creations, and a separate LiPo battery with a high C rate.

These are used to run the pump's turbines at the sustained power levels and speeds they need.