Self-actuating control for rocket motor nozzle

摘要

A rocket motor is provided with a self-actuated nozzle throat control mechanism. The motor includes a casing that forms a combustion chamber and houses propellant. An exhaust nozzle extends from the motor casing and is fluidly coupled to the combustion chamber. A pintle assembly is provided to vary the throat area of the nozzle. The pintle assembly includes a pintle and a support member. The pintle is coupled to the support member for movement from a first position to a second position where the pintle extends farther into the throat than when in the first position. A locking member secures the pintle to the support member in the first position when the pressure in the combustion chamber is in a first range and releases the pintle from the support member when the pressure in the combustion chamber changes to a value in another range. With this construction, a multistep pintle, which moves in response to change in combustion chamber pressure, can be constructed without complex control instrumentation. In addition, the highly responsive pintle control system optimizes throat area at each selected combustion phase, thereby improving the performance of multiphase rocket motors.