Improving efficiency of the rocket propellant temperature preparation system using liquid nitrogen and the recuperative heat exchangers

Thermal preparation of the rocket propellant is considered one of the most energy-intensive, time-consuming processes at the spaceport launch sites and technical complexes during preparation for a space rocket launch. It requires the use of efficient technologies and modes for the propellant cooling (heating). The paper considers a schematic design of the hydrocarbon rocket propellant thermal preparation systems using boiling the liquid nitrogen separately in a tube-in-tube heat exchanger and in combination with the fuel temperature reduction in the recuperative heat exchanger with the antifreeze cooled by the bubbling liquid nitrogen and gaseous nitrogen exiting the tube-in-tube heat exchanger. Mathematical models of fuel cooling in these systems have been developed. The paper presents results of analyzing their characteristics for the relative liquid nitrogen consumption per the propellant cooling unit mass, and confirms a possibility of increasing the rocket propellant thermal preparation system efficiency using liquid nitrogen and a combination of the recuperative heat exchangers.
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