Crawford, Roger | Engineering Papers

NASA NTRS1993

Integrated modular propulsion for launch vehicles

The paper proposes a modular approach to rocket propulsion which offers a versatile method for realizing the goals of low cost, safety, reliability, and ease of operation. It is shown that, using practical modules made up of only 4-6 individual elements, it is possible to achieve thrust levels of 2-3 mln lbf and more, using turbomachinery, thrust chambers, lines, and valves about the size of SSME hardware. The approach is illustrated by a LOX/LH2 configuration.

Knuth, William↗

NASA NTRS1988

Rocket engine control and monitoring expert system

This paper focuses on the application of expert systems technology to the automatic detection, verification and correction of anomalous rocket engine operations through interfacing with an intelligent adaptive control system. The design of a reliable and intelligent propulsion control and monitoring system is outlined which includes the architecture of an Integrated Expert System (IES) serving as the core component. The IES functions include automatic knowledge acquisition, integrated knowledge base, and fault diagnosis and prediction methodology. The results of fault analysis and diagnostic techniques are presented for an example fault in the SSME main combustion chamber injectors.

Ali, Moonis↗