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This unusually pointy rocket engine uses a nozzle geometry known as an aerospike, which relies on the atmosphere to constrain the facilitate the expansion of exhaust gasses. This particular version achieved an efficiency boost of 8.5% over a conventional bell nozzle. This reused the chamber and control components from the propane-air rocket engine and produced well over 30N of thrust.
Rotating Detonation Engine
This experimental rocket engine was 3D printed out of stainless steel and specifically designed to run directly coupled to a high power electrolysis machine with built in semi permeable printed features that prevent flashback within the premixed propellant. Unfortunately, The electrolysis side of things has been the biggest challenge, getting reasonably sized units to the required power levels. Although cold gas flow testing has been done, this engine has not had a successful hot fire test...yet
see short video: https://youtube.com/shorts/cqfaeNn9xkQ?si=zz3qSa1VxZZq81i_
Air-Propane Rocket Engine
This Impressive looking display of mach diamonds marks my first sucessful propulsion apparatus to have supersonic exhaust, and was able to serve as a proof-of-concept testbed for various nozzle designs. Although it weighed significantly more than its own thrust and its efficiency was generally bad, it was able to sustain combustion at extremely high flowrates, all from a combustion chamber made out of a water bottle.
Hydrogen Rocket engine
Flashback event visible in the bubbler
This very tiny rocket engine is powered by separating water into hydrogen and oxygen and immediately recombining the gas to achieve extremely high combustion temperatures. This small nozzle (1 mm throat) took 7.2 kw of power to sustain just 10 psi in the chamber which meant exhaust was still subsonic. A more powerful and efficient electrolysis setup and less frictional losses in the system would be required to make this a more feasible means of propulsion.
Previous Rotating Detonation Attempts
MK-1
MK-1
This overcomplicated aerospike attempted to send a continous detonation wave around its annular chamber using a pre-detinator tube, but had insufficient flow velocity to sustain a detonation wave.
Mk-2
Mk-2
This second attempt had a critical gasketing flaw that fried most of the test hardware as soon as the pre-detonator fired.
MK-3
MK-3
This variant used a fully redesigned chamber but had extreme instability and could not sustain detonation for a perceptable amount of time.
Early Versions
Trident Engine
Trident Engine
This simple thruster was made out of steel pipes and didn't last very long with no cooling
Whistlebell Engine
Whistlebell Engine
This air-propane combustion attempt went horribly wrong with every gasket failing and the stand going up in flames
Junebug Engine
Junebug Engine
This was the first thruster to survive testing, relying on film cooling to keep the chamber from melting. It produced only 0.7N from its subsonic exhaust
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