Low-cost, Lightweight Electronic Flow Regulators for Throttling Liquid Rocket Engines

Abstract

For small-scale liquid rockets, pressure-fed systems are commonly favoured due to their simplicity and low weight. In such systems, accurate regulation of both tank and injector pressures over a wide range of upstream pressures is critical $-$ more accurate regulation allows for higher engine efficiency and minimal tank mass, thus improving flight performance. However, existing methods such as dome-loaded pressure regulators are inflexible, or require extensive characterization to function accurately. These methods also suffer from limited orifice size, droop, and slow reaction times, making them unsuitable for throttling by adjusting pressures in flight, which are increasingly important as propulsively landing rockets become more common. To overcome these challenges, we designed an electronic pressure regulator (eReg), a multi-input multi-output system utilising closed loop feedback to accurately control downstream pressures. Our design is simple, low-cost and robust: with a single ball valve actuated by a motor, we regulate both gaseous pressurant and cryogenic liquid propellant at high flow rates (1.14 kg/s of liquid; 0.39 kg/s of gas) and upstream pressures (310 bar). Using 2 eRegs to regulate propellant tank pressures, and 2 eRegs for regulating propellant flow to the engine, we demonstrated our system's ability, in a static fire test, to regulate pressures accurately (within 0.2 bar) while simultaneously throttling our engine. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time any undergraduate team has successfully throttled a liquid bipropellant engine.