Two stage turbine for rockets

The aerodynamic design and rig test evaluation of a small counter-rotating turbine system is described. The advanced turbine airfoils were designed and tested by Pratt & Whitney. The technology represented by this turbine is being developed for a turbopump to be used in an advanced upper stage rocket engine. The advanced engine will use a hydrogen expander cycle and achieve high performance through efficient combustion of hydrogen/oxygen propellants, high combustion pressure, and high area ratio exhaust nozzle expansion. Engine performance goals require that the turbopump drive turbines achieve high efficiency at low gas flow rates. The low mass flow rates and high operating pressures result in very small airfoil heights and diameters. The high efficiency and small size requirements present a challenging turbine design problem. The shrouded axial turbine blades are 50 percent reaction with a maximum thickness to chord ratio near 1. At 6 deg from the tangential direction, the nozzle and blade exit flow angles are well below the traditional design minimum limits. The blade turning angle of 160 deg also exceeds the maximum limits used in traditional turbine designs.