Gas-generator cycle

The Gas Generator Cycle is one of the most commonly used power cycles in bipropellant liquid rocket engine. Gas Generator Cycle also called open cycle, taps off a small amount of fuel and oxidizer from the main flow (typically 2 to 7 percent) to feed a burner called a gas generator. The hot gas from this generator passes through a turbine to generate power for the pumps that send propellants to the combustion chamber. The hot gas is then either dumped overboard or sent into the main nozzle downstream. Increasing the flow of propellants into the gas generator increases the speed of the turbine, which increases the flow of propellants into the main combustion chamber, and hence, the amount of thrust produced. The gas generator must burn propellants at a less-than-optimal mixture ratio to keep the temperature low for the turbine blades.

Gas-generator rocket cycle. Some of the fuel and oxidizer is burned separately to power the pumps and then discarded. Most gas-generator engines use the fuel for nozzle cooling.

The gas generator cycle exhaust products pass over the turbine first. Then they are expelled overboard. The main combustion chamber does not use these products, and in fact it does not meet them. This explains the name of the open cycle. There is a major disadvantage of the open cycle. It leaves a lot of unburnt fuel in the gas generator’s exhaust plume.

Gas-generator combustion engines include the following:

Rocket launch systems that use gas-generator combustion engines:

See also

References
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