The turbopump is the heart of a rocket engine. It must constantly supply the combustion chamber with fuel and oxidizer with absolute reliability while maintaining the high combustion chamber pressure. When designing the LOX centrifugal pump, attention must therefore be paid to a phenomenon whose occurrence cannot be completely avoided, but can certainly be controlled: Cavitation, i.e. the formation of vapor bubbles when the pressure falls below the vapor pressure.
The study shows the design and optimization of a LOX centrifugal pump with CFturbo 2025 and CFturbo BLADERUNNER 2025 for a fictional rocket engine powered by LOX/RP-1 (Kerolox), which delivers around 250 kN thrust at an exit velocity of 3,000 m/s. CFturbo 2025 enables the design and 3D drafting of the entire stage, consisting of an inducer, a radial impeller and a surrounding volute.
