As part of a project conducted with CNES and Ariane Group and led byESA, the Lille – Kampé de Fériet Fluid Mechanics Laboratory at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Lille is conducting tests to optimize the engines of the next Ariane 5 rockets.
Making rocket engines reusable and cheaper to manufacture is the goal of the new generation of rocket engines. To achieve this, the entire engine architecture has been redesigned, with implications for the fluids required for combustion and therefore for rocket takeoff.
The teamsArts et Métiers to this space innovation by testing the effects of this new engine architecture on the performance and unsteady behavior of the pumps. According to Antoine Dazin, head of the fluid mechanics laboratory at Arts et Métiers in Lille, " The test bench we have is unique in Europe in terms of its power and the type of measurements it can perform. " The first test campaign provided the space industry with data to validate the architecture of the new engines. Further test campaigns are scheduled to start by the end of 2019.
This project is part of the ongoing partnership between LMFL, CNES, and Ariane Group. " These projects bring together the fluid mechanics team atArts et Métiers. In addition to the scientific interest, space always inspires a little bit of dreaminess," concludes Antoine Dazin.
