Technology demonstrator for the development of innovative engine concepts
As part of the LUMEN (Liquid Upper Stage Demonstrator Engine) project, DLR researchers are developing a pump-fed liquid oxygen (LOX) and methane engine. The focus is on investigating the behaviour of a complete liquid-fuelled rocket cycle and its individual components in a representative test environment. The tests will take place on the European Research and Technology Test Stand P8 at the DLR site in Lampoldshausen.
The LUMEN project will serve to increase technical expertise and project experience at system level for a cryogenic upper stage engine. Here, the design, manufacture and operation of a demonstrator for a cryogenic upper stage engine will be carried out. This will make it possible to investigate the specific problems that arise from the coupled operation of the individual components. The design of the demonstrator, which is optimised for test stand operation (scaling, hardly any restrictions on weight and installation space), ensures proper accessibility to all the individual components for measurement purposes. The data obtained in this way will provide a much more detailed insight into the operating behaviour of an engine than is possible with real rocket engines. These data will form the basis for the validation of numerical techniques for the description of liquid-fuelled propulsion systems.
With its systems expertise, the DLR research team supports the German and European space industry in the development of innovative and cost-effective rocket propulsion systems.
Link:
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Dr. Jan Deeken ยท E-Mail Jan.Deeken@dlr.de
