Engineering:Vulcain (rocket engine)

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Short description: French rocket engine
Vulcain
Moteur-Vulcain.jpg
Vulcain 1 engine on display at Musée des Sciences et des Techniques de la Villette
Country of origin France
First flight04 June 1996
Last flight18 December 2009
DesignerSnecma
ManufacturerSafran Aircraft Engines
ApplicationMain stage engine
Associated L/VAriane 5
SuccessorVulcain 2
StatusRetired
Liquid-fuel engine
PropellantLiquid oxygen / liquid hydrogen
Mixture ratio5.3[1]
CycleGas generator
Configuration
Nozzle ratio45.1
Performance
Thrust (vac.)1,140 kN (256,300 lbf)
Chamber pressure100 bars (1,500 psi)
Isp (vac.)431 s (4.23 km/s)
Dimensions
Length3.05 m (10.0 ft)
Diameter1.76 m (5.8 ft)
Dry weight1,300 kg (2,900 lb)
Used in
Ariane 5 G and GS
References
References[2][3][4][5]
Vulcain 2
SNECMA Vulcain II.jpg
The Vulcain 2 engine
Country of origin France
First flight12 February 2005
DesignerSnecma
ManufacturerSnecma
ApplicationMain stage engine
Associated L/VAriane 5
PredecessorVulcain 1
StatusRetired
Liquid-fuel engine
PropellantLiquid oxygen / Liquid hydrogen
Mixture ratio6.1
CycleGas generator
Configuration
Nozzle ratio58.2
Performance
Thrust (vac.)1,359 kN (305,500 lbf)
Chamber pressure117.3 bars (11.73 MPa)
Isp (vac.)429 s (4.21 km/s)
Dimensions
Length3.44 m (11.3 ft)
Diameter2.09 m (6.9 ft)
Dry weight1,800 kg (4,000 lb)
Used in
Ariane 5 ECA, ES
References
References[2][6] [7][8][9]
Vulcain 2.1
Country of origin France
DesignerSnecma
ManufacturerSnecma
ApplicationMain stage engine
Associated L/VAriane 6
PredecessorVulcain 2
StatusIn development
Liquid-fuel engine
PropellantLiquid oxygen / Liquid hydrogen
CycleGas generator
Performance
Thrust (vac.)1,324 kN (297,600 lbf)
Chamber pressure120.8 bars (12.08 MPa)
Dimensions
Length3.7 m (12 ft)
Diameter2.5 m (8.2 ft)
Dry weight2,000 kg (4,400 lb)
Used in
Ariane 6
References
References[10]

Vulcain is a family of European first stage rocket engines for Ariane 5 and the future Ariane 6. Its development began in 1988 and the first flight was completed in 1996. The updated version of the engine, Vulcain 2, was first successfully flown in 2005. Both members of the family use liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen cryogenic fuel. The new version under development for Ariane 6 will be called Vulcain 2.1.

History

The Vulcain rocket engine is named in French for Vulcan, the ancient Roman god of fire. Its development, carried out by a European partnership, began in 1988 with the Ariane 5 rocket program.[11] It first flew in 1996 powering the ill-fated flight 501 without being the cause of the disaster, and had its first successful flight in 1997 (flight 502).

In 2002 the upgraded Vulcain 2 with 20% more thrust[12] first flew on flight 157, although a problem with the engine turned the flight into a failure.[13] The cause was due to flight loads being much higher than expected, as the inquiry board concluded.[14] Subsequently, the nozzle was redesigned to include mechanical reinforcement of the structure and improvement of the thermal situation of the tube wall through enhancing hydrogen coolant flow as well as applying a thermal barrier coating to the flame-facing side of the coolant tubes.[14] The first successful flight of the (partially redesigned) Vulcain 2 occurred in 2005 on flight 521.[13]

Further development

On 17 June 2007 Volvo Aero announced that in spring of 2008 it expected to hot-fire test a Vulcain 2 nozzle manufactured with a new "sandwich" technology.[15]

The development of the future version for Ariane 6, Vulcain 2.1, began in 2014. First flight-configuration engine nozzle was delivered in June 2017, reducing parts count by 90%, cost by 40% and production time by 30% comparing to the engine nozzle of Vulcain 2.[16]

Overview

The Vulcain is a gas-generator cycle rocket engine fed with cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. It features regenerative cooling through a tube wall design, and the Vulcain 2 introduced a particular film cooling for the lower part of the nozzle, where exhaust gas from the turbine is re-injected in the engine.[14] It powers the first stage of the Ariane 5 launcher, the EPC (Étage Principal Cryotechnique, main cryogenic stage) and provide 8% of the total lift-off thrust[17] (the rest being provided by the two solid rocket boosters). The engine operating time is 600 s in both configurations.[18] 3 m tall and 1.76 m in diameter, the engine weighs 1686 kg and provides 137 t of thrust in its latest version.[19] The oxygen turbopump rotates at 13600 rpm with a power of 3 MW while the hydrogen turbopump rotates at 34000 rpm with 12 MW of power. The total mass flow rate is 235 kg/s, of which 41.2 kg/s are of hydrogen.

Contractors

The main contractor for the Vulcain engines is Snecma Moteurs (France), which also provides the liquid hydrogen turbopump. The liquid oxygen turbopump is the responsibility of Avio (Italy), and the gas turbines that power the turbopumps and the nozzle are developed by GKN (Formerly Volvo) (Sweden).[17]

See also

Comparable engines

  • RS-68
  • J-2X
  • RS-25 (SSME)
  • RD-0120

References and notes

  1. ↑ i Bel, Margarit; Martínez Sánchez, Manuel (2001). "SIMULATION OF A LIQUID ROCKET ENGINE". 1st Meeting of EcosimPro Users 11: 6. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242289941. Retrieved 2023-06-23. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Vulcain-2 Cryogenic Engine Passes First Test with New Nozzle Extension". http://www.esa.int/esapub/bulletin/bullet102/Coulon102.pdf. 
  3. ↑ EADS Astrium. "Vulcain Rocket Engine - Thrust Chamber". Airbus Defence and Space. http://cs.astrium.eads.net/sp/launcher-propulsion/rocket-engines/vulcain-rocket-engine.html. 
  4. ↑ "V169 Presskit". Arianespace. http://www.arianespace.com/images/launch-kits/launch-kit-pdf-eng/05_dec_21.pdf. 
  5. ↑ "Vulcain". http://www.astronautix.com/engines/vulcain.htm. 
  6. ↑ EADS Astrium. "Vulcain 2 Rocket Engine - Thrust Chamber". Airbus Defence and Space. http://cs.astrium.eads.net/sp/launcher-propulsion/rocket-engines/vulcain-2-rocket-engine.html. 
  7. ↑ "Ariane 5 - Europe's Heavy Launcher". European Space Agency. http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multimedia/publications/ariane5/offline/download.pdf. 
  8. ↑ "Vulcain®2". Safran. http://www.safran-group.com/site-safran-en/aerospace/aerospace-propulsion/space-engines/vulcain-r-2/?274. 
  9. ↑ "Vulcain 2". http://www.astronautix.com/engines/vulcain2.htm. 
  10. ↑ "Vulcain 2.1". European Space Agency. 2017-10-24. http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2017/10/Vulcain_2.1. 
  11. ↑ "Vulcain – Summary". SPACEandTECH. http://www.spaceandtech.com/spacedata/engines/vulcain_sum.shtml. 
  12. ↑ "Vulcain 2 engine now in full production". European Space Agency. 2005-04-05. http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMF9DLY17E_Benefits_0.html. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Ariane 5 Data Sheet". Space Launch Report. 2005-11-29. http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/ariane5.html. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 L. Winterfeldt; B. Laumert (2005-07-10). "Redesign of the Vulcain 2 Nozzle Extension". American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. http://www.volvoaero.com/sitecollectiondocuments/vac/new%20site/documents/vulcain2redesign.pdf. 
  15. ↑ "Volvo Aero's sandwich space technology passes important milestone" (Press release). Volvo Aero. June 17, 2007. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.
  16. ↑ "GKN delivers revolutionary Ariane 6 Nozzle to Airbus Safran Launchers" (Press release). GKN Aerospace. 20 June 2017. Archived from the original on Oct 30, 2017. Retrieved 28 Nov 2023.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "ESA – Launch Vehicles – Vulcain Engine". European Space Agency. 2005-11-29. http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Launchers_Access_to_Space/ASELVQI4HNC_0.html. 
  18. ↑ "Volvo Aero: Vulcain – characteristics". Volvo Aero. http://www.volvoaero.com/volvoaero/global/en-gb/products/Space%20propulsion/space_experience/Pages/vulcain.aspx. 
  19. ↑ "ESA – Launch Vehicles – Ariane 5 ECA". European Space Agency. http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Launchers_Access_to_Space/SEM0LR2PGQD_0.html. 

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