The YF-100 is a
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
liquid
A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, a ...
rocket engine
A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propulsive jet of fluid, usually high-temperature gas. Rocket engines are reaction engines, producing thrust by ejecting mass rearward, in accordanc ...
burning
LOX
Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an appli ...
and
kerosene
Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...
in an oxidizer-rich
staged combustion cycle
The staged combustion cycle (sometimes known as topping cycle, preburner cycle, or closed cycle) is a power cycle of a bipropellant rocket engine. In the staged combustion cycle, propellant flows through multiple combustion chambers, and is thu ...
.
Development of the engine began in the 2000s, along with its sibling, the smaller
YF-115
The YF-115 is a Chinese liquid rocket engine burning LOX and kerosene in an oxidizer-rich staged combustion cycle. A high efficiency/high thrust environmental friendly rocket engine was always an objective within Programme 863. Development bega ...
, which would power the
LM-6 and
LM-7 upper stages.
Testing was directed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) commencing in 2005. Development works are mainly carried out by the Xi'an Aerospace Propulsion Institute. The engine had its first 300 seconds test fire in November 2007.
A high efficiency/high thrust environmentally-friendly rocket engine was always an objective within
Programme 863 in the 1980s; however, Chinese industry was not mature enough at that time to produce such a rocket until they obtained
RD-120
The RD-120 (GRAU Index 11D123) is a liquid upper stage rocket engine burning RG-1 (refined kerosene) and LOX in an oxidizer rich staged combustion cycle with an O/F ratio of 2.6. It is used in the second stage of the Zenit family of launch vehic ...
in early 1990 from Russia following the collapse of the USSR.
It is the first Chinese rocket engine to adopt the staged-combustion cycle and the most powerful to date. During July 2012 the engine fired for 200 seconds generating of thrust.
On May 28, 2012, the National Defense Science and Industry Bureau certified the engine.
The engine is designed for use on the
first stage of the Chinese government's new generation of launch vehicles, the
Long March 5
Long March 5 (LM-5; zh, s=长征五号 , p=Chángzhēng wǔ hào), or Changzheng 5 (CZ-5), and also by its nickname "''Pang-Wu''" (胖五, "''Fat-Five''"), is a Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle ...
, the
Long March 6
The Long March 6 () or Chang Zheng 6 as in pinyin, abbreviated LM 6 for export or CZ 6 within China, is a Chinese liquid-fuelled launch vehicle of the Long March family, which was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corpor ...
and the
Long March 7
, stages = {{plainlist,
* CZ-7: Two
* CZ-7A: Three {{cite web, url=https://www.space.com/china-space-program-new-long-march-rockets.html, last=Jones, first=Andrew, title=China prepares to launch new rockets as part of push to boost spac ...
.
The engine's maiden flight, on the Long March 6, took place on September 20, 2015.
Technical Description
The YF-100 is a
pump-fed oxidizer rich
staged combustion
Staged combustion is a method used to reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides ( NOx) during combustion. There are two methods for staged combustion: air staged supply and fuel staged supply. Applications of staged combustion include boilers and ro ...
rocket engine. It has adjustable thrust and variable
mixture ratio. Its preburner burns all the
LOX
Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an appli ...
mass flow with a bit of
kerosene
Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...
to generate hot gas that powers the single turbine. The turbopump is a single-shaft design, with a single-stage oxygen pump and a dual-stage kerosene pump driven by the same turbine. It also has two low-pressure pumps that prevent
cavitation
Cavitation is a phenomenon in which the static pressure of a liquid reduces to below the liquid's vapour pressure, leading to the formation of small vapor-filled cavities in the liquid. When subjected to higher pressure, these cavities, cal ...
. This arrangement is very similar to the
RD-170
The RD-170 ( rus, РД-170, Ракетный Двигатель-170, Raketnyy Dvigatel-170) is the world's most powerful and heaviest liquid-fuel rocket engine. It was designed and produced in the Soviet Union by NPO Energomash for use with the ...
design. The engine has a heat exchanger to heat oxygen gas for LOX tank pressurization, and also supplies high-pressure kerosene as hydraulic fluid for the
thrust vector control
Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the ve ...
actuators.
The development required ten years of research, requiring the mastering of 70 key technologies, the development of 50 new materials, and the construction of 61 sets of engines with a combined total of more than 40,000 seconds of ignition time by 2013.
Versions
At least three different versions are known to exist.
* YF-100 (single-axis
TVC): Version for the
LM-5 and
LM-7 boosters. This version of TVC has a single axis of gimbal.
* YF-100 (dual-axis TVC): Version for the
LM-7 core. This version TVC has a dual-axis gimbal.
* YF-100GBI: A version used on the
LM-6. Due to the rocket's single nozzle, a dual-axis gimbal can not control the rocket's roll. Therefore, this version of the engine diverts a portion of the preburner exhaust through two roll control nozzles on opposite sides of the launch vehicle at the expense of losing 0.30% of thrust and 0.79% of
isp
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
while the
O/F is increased by 0.12%.
* YF-100K: Version used for the crewed Long March 5G.
See also
*
LM-5 – Rocket family that uses the YF-100.
*
LM-6 – Rocket family that uses the YF-100.
*
LM-7 – Rocket family that uses the YF-100.
*
YF-115
The YF-115 is a Chinese liquid rocket engine burning LOX and kerosene in an oxidizer-rich staged combustion cycle. A high efficiency/high thrust environmental friendly rocket engine was always an objective within Programme 863. Development bega ...
– Upper stage Chinese rocket engine based on the YF-100 technology.
*
RD-120
The RD-120 (GRAU Index 11D123) is a liquid upper stage rocket engine burning RG-1 (refined kerosene) and LOX in an oxidizer rich staged combustion cycle with an O/F ratio of 2.6. It is used in the second stage of the Zenit family of launch vehic ...
– Soviet rocket engine.
*
RD-801
The RD-801 (Russian: ) is a Ukrainian liquid propellant rocket engine burning LOX and Kerosene ( RG-1) in a staged combustion cycle. It has a single combustion chamber that provides thrust vector control by gimbaling of the nozzle in two axis by ...
– Ukrainian rocket engine with very similar characteristics.
References
External links
The Ship Knowledge, issue 11, 2012 (舰船知识2012年第11期)
{{DEFAULTSORT:YF-100
Rocket engines of China
Rocket engines using kerosene propellant
Rocket engines using the staged combustion cycle