How NASA Reinvented the Rocket Engine

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Credits:
Writer/Narrator: Brian McManus
Writer: Josi Gold
Editor: Dylan Hennessy
Animator: Mike Ridolfi
Animator: Eli Prenten
Sound: Graham Haerther
Thumbnail: Simon Buckmaster
References:
[1] “Increasing engine efficiency,” Aerospace America, Apr. 30, 2018. . aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/dep...
[2] “Falcon 9 - SpaceFlight Insider.” . www.spaceflightinsider.com/ha...
[3] “Current State of NASA Continuously Rotating Detonation Cycle Engine Development,” in AIAA SCITECH 2023 Forum, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/...
[4] “Computational Study of Deflagration to Detonation Transition in Pulse Detonation Engine Using Shchelkin Spiral,” Appl. Mech. Mater. www.scientific.net/AMM.772.136
[5] “A Theoretical Review of Rotating Detonation Engines | IntechOpen.” . www.intechopen.com/chapters/7...
[6] “Rotating detonation combustors and their similarities to rocket instabilities,” Prog. Energy Combust. Sci. www.sciencedirect.com/science...
[7] “Gaillard et al. - 2017 - Numerical simulation of a Rotating Detonation with.pdf.” . hal.science/hal-01558902/docu...
[8] “Teasley et al. - 2021 - A Review Towards the Design Optimization of High P.pdf.” . ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/2...
[9] “Pressure Distribution and Performance Impacts of Aerospike Nozzles on Rotating Detonation Engines,” in 2018 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Kissimmee, Florida, Jan. 2018, doi: 10.2514/6.2018-1626. arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.20...
[10] “Effect of Aerospike Plug Nozzle Design on Rotating Detonation Engine Performance for Rocket Applications | AIAA SciTech Forum.” . arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/...
[11] “観測ロケットS-520-31号機による深宇宙探査用デトネーションエンジン宇宙実証実験に成功,” 宇宙科学研究所. . www.isas.jaxa.jp/topics/00269...
[12] “NASA RDRE For Release to AIAA Teasley ER13.pdf.” . ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/2...
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images
Thank you to AP Archive for access to their archival footage.
Music by Epidemic Sound: epidemicsound.com/creator
Thank you to my patreon supporters: Abdullah Alotaibi, Adam Flohr, Henning Basma, Hank Green, William Leu, Tristan Edwards, Ian Dundore, John & Becki Johnston. Nevin Spoljaric, Jason Clark, Thomas Barth, Johnny MacDonald, Stephen Foland, Alfred Holzheu, Abdulrahman Abdulaziz Binghaith, Brent Higgins, Dexter Appleberry, Alex Pavek, Marko Hirsch, Mikkel Johansen, Hibiyi Mori. Viktor Józsa, Ron Hochsprung

[@RealEngineering]

Watch the next episode of Real Engineering 2 weeks early with this link: go.nebula.tv/realengineering

[@pyeitme508]

RAD!

[@CyFr]

That fluid flow "valve" was developed by Nicola Tesla, literally named the Tesla Valve.

[@flipnshifty]

MERGINAL GAIN

[@BS-vm5bt]

Interesting video though I prefer the NSRW or a FFR engines. They work way better if you want low relativistic speeds while chemical engines are extremely unpractical in comparison. If we want to expand in the solar system fission is the only way to go since fusion does not currently exist. The NSRW has a speed limit of 7.62% of C with 300 ton spacecraft with weapons grade uranium source. Even with efficency loss that a nuclear engine has its still way better then chemical rockets thx to its energy density. Nothing can compete with fission.

[@sahinyasar9119]

@@CyFr I was thinking same thing

[@sfoti6973]

The best April Fool's day video is a completely normal video that makes the viewer question everything the entire time.

[@ExEBoss]

Especially with a clickbaity title like that.

[@jasonmajere2165]

This is very real.

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

Did it out 3 weeks before on nebula?

[@franklinblunt69]

Especially when reliant upon Russian technology...😁

[@YourLocalDemocracy.Officer]

ultimate gaslight

[@RahulAhire]

Saw the M1 abram tank video. Your animation have come a long way from blue graph paper design to now realistic 3D renders. I really loved it

[@fateh5914]

That’s a different channel. Real Engineering hasn’t ever made a M1 Abrams video. But his graphics have definitely improved.

[@RahulAhire]

@@fateh5914 it's on nebula

[@casualbird7671]

@@fateh5914 ..did you not watch the end of this video?

[@fateh5914]

@@casualbird7671 sorry about that, I’m wrong on this point. There is an M1 Abrams video on Nebula. I should’ve checked before posting my comment. My apologies.

[@emmanotsostrong]

@@fateh5914 why do your comments sound like they were written by ChatGPT? 🤔

[@SugarFreeEngineering]

Excellent video; I actually did my Master's research and published a paper on GRCop-42 in partnership with NASA. It's a fascinating material and has a ton of promise. We looked at 3D printing it using high-pressure cold spray deposition, bonding it with another super alloy called HR-1, and doing many experiments with various ways to heat treat them. I'd be happy to answer any questions, and link my article or video of the my presentation. Either way, this video made my day and certainly brought a smile to my face. Thanks for the great work!

[@davedsilva]

Please link your article and video.

[@yyattt]

I'd be interested to see your presentation. I guess you wouldn't be able to post a link, but perhaps you could make it available on your channel?

[@CinemaDemocratica]

"Sir we've got a problem with explosions happening in the combustion chamber." "Have you tried setting off explosions in the combustion chamber?"

[@twistedyogert]

"I used explosions to destroy the explosions."

[@CinemaDemocratica]

@@twistedyogert I didn't remember writing my comment so this was a lot of fun for me. :-)

[@treymoore6901]

I’m a minute in to this video and can’t tell if it was intentionally published on April 1 or not…

[@austinlhampton]

No very real thing, theres a couple vids out there of people making them on their own, they are super cool, watched an interview where one of the dudes mentioned that the shock waves blew off a 500lbs door to test chamber XD shits wild, ong though the air you have to force through to get the effect to make it work is insane, issue is the damn thing not melting itself

[@dennispremoli7950]

This exists.

[@InstructorRandy]

Nah it's legit man

[@laurencehoffelder1579]

@@austinlhampton i mean the "500lbs door engine" is not a DIY engine but the test engine from the TU Berlin. NEVER try to build a RD-engine DIY or operate it without a sufficient test stand. It ist just to unstable and difficult to get right for the amateur.

[@Tuned_Rockets]

it was published on nebula 2 weeks ago so april 1st is probably a coincidence

[@Penultimeat]

When you started describing the needs for the injectors, I new you were gonna mention Tesla Valves! Very cool that they have some palpable practical use case.

[@petersilva037]

disappointed he didn't call them Tesla valves.

[@hydrolifetech7911]

@@petersilva037 same here!

[@arnaudt3935]

@@petersilva037 Yep

[@vorpalinferno9711]

@@petersilva037 You cant call any tech related product 'Tesla' these days thanks to Elon. Its not that he is going to attempt copyright trolling, its the confusion the naming is going to create amongst casual audience. Nvidia had their server based GPUs called Tesla long ago before any car was named that. Jensen just withdrew the branding name to remove any confusion.

[@TheRmbomo]

@@vorpalinferno9711 You could just call them Nikola Tesla valves then. Rolls off the tongue only marginally worse, and no confusion.

[@bencabot3165]

This video was really cool to watch! I work in a lab with one of the guys who designed the NASA RDE, and one of my other coworkers is cited here, it's awesome to see detonation combustors getting some more attention on KZbin!

[@patelp9701]

I also work with one of those guys!

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

Don't lie, it was all chat GPT

[@tonyrusi1978]

Name the engineers! They deserve the credit!

[@robert.kawasaki]

KZbin is the best!

[@arrotp4665]

​@@tonyrusi1978opsec violation

[@Hyo9000]

They have progressed so much, omg! I’m hyped to possibly see a RDE being used for space missions during my lifetime. Thanks for the video ❤

[@TheImmortuary]

Its didnt look like the area under the curve was that much different, but then I realised the x axis was logrithmic.

[@fedomandez]

I was thinking the same

[@cthulhufhtagn7520]

Y axis but yeah

[@MelindaGreen]

I didn't notice that and was puzzled too, thanks. #NotAllAreas

[@suicideistheanswer369]

Thanks, I was confused.

[@nam3go3sh3r3]

what do you want a cookie?

[@clapetto]

I need to make a small correction: at 8:05 the compressor is actually the segment 2-3, as it increases pressure while reducing volume. Point 1-2 is actually a fictitious transformation used for calculation purposes from what I remember, as it's not really a cycle sincr the exhaust is not really cooled down and then reused.

[@zecc81]

I had to replay that 3 times to really make sure I was hearing "a compressor decreases the volume at constant pressure" and concluded that no, that is not how that works.

[@verylongname8161]

@@zecc81 same here, of course its a compressor why would it not increase the pressure also purely for land based electricity generation, combined cycle plants can be well over 80% efficient so its not really useful to my disappointment

[@ichbrauchmehrkaffee5785]

I was specifically looking in the comments to see if someone else stumbled upon this. Just recently wrote an exam in thermodynamics, where we did cover cyclic processes. I don't see how an isobaric reduction in volume would make sense, that would mean, that temperature had to go down..

[@katzen3314]

Thankyou! I knew something wasn't right there

[@Wemdiculous]

Why is the volume of the detonated fuel so much lower than the volume of the deflagrated fuels? Is it because these areas are the same, but they’re using less fuel?

[@johnslugger]

*We researched this in 1982 when working at Aerojet/Rocketdyne and they are very LOUD engines (((())). We also dropped lead pellets into the flow and come up with a hybrid machine-gun that shot 25,000 rounds of .30 Cal. per second at 3100 feet per second. The US Navy still thinks this type of "Detonation Gun" could take down hyper-sonic war heads by creating a near solid wall of high speed flying lead or ceramic pellets.*

[@arielhermoso4262]

@johnslugger : Why no "prototype" gun was built, out of such finding with RDE technology... It must be called "gasoline gun", "benzene gun", "propane gun", etc.!!...😊😊😊

[@kaitlyn__L]

Thank you very much for explaining how this integrates the aerospike nozzle. I saw it in the test units, and wondered if this was actually the next phase in the aerospike research they were doing a couple decades ago, or whether this was something totally different. I can now see it’s kind of both - you could do an aerospike engine without rotating detonation, but as you point out they are natural partners.

[@zemperus1639]

Another 3D printed, Oxide-dispersed (ODS) sintered composite alloy named GRX-810 is also developed for NASA. Very cool stuff, material engineering.

[@mpetersen6]

I think that advanced alloys or composites combined with 3D printing and proper designs concentrating on maximunstrength vs minimum weight might finally allow for a practical SSTO. Not one that carries cargo. But one that can function as a taxi carrying crew to orbit.

[@Jaker788]

​@@mpetersen6 I'm afraid the physics of SSTOS just don't ever make sense on Earth. 2 stage rockets can still be rapidly operated like a taxi and are significantly more effective and reasonable in size/weight vs carrying volume and capacity, the technology of rapid reusability and reliability just needs to be worked on as that is the biggest factor to being an effective taxi.

[@lilairfryer6049]

@@mpetersen6 SSTOs from earth are just flat out inferior. Maybe from a different place, but they are just less efficient.

[@mpetersen6]

@@lilairfryer6049 Lets say with breakthroughs in materials science and improvements in engine performance it was possible to build an manned SSTO capable of carrying say 6 passengers to orbit. Even if it is not as efficient as an optimized two stage vehicle. With a short turn around time. There is more than one type of efficiency. There is the mass ratio efficiency. And then there is the man hours turnaround efficiency. One thing in terms of materials science that might improve the possibility of an SSTO could be the use of Byrilium alloys in place of some of the materials in use today. And yes I'm aware of the potential issues with Byrilium. Besides say we have a barely workable SSTO capable of functioning as an orbital taxi. Just how well, would the same vehicle work from the Lunar or Martian surface. As an aside perhaps an SSTO (1) could function with dropable liquid fueled booster of extremely simple design. 1) It should be remembered that the first US built launch vehicle to place a man into orbit was almost an SSTO.

[@moritzaufenanger2537]

Coming from the bike industrie this comment made me look twice :)

[@thepilotman5378]

It's actually crazy that I watched the full version of SmarterEveryDay with the Saturn V walkaround and they spent a lot of time discussing the engine baffels and problems before hand. Stuff like this proves there is another way to do things. re-inventing the wheel is sometimes the way to go!

[@HuntingTarg]

One could say 're-engineering.' Ancient chariot wheels were redesigned for agricultural carts of the Roman and medevial periods; which were redesigned for travel wagons in the American West, which were redesigned for automobiles in the 20th century. This is simply a re-engineered rocket engine designed to use detonations in a controlled way, rather than prevent detonations.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I think "rotating detonation engine" is one of the coolest names for a rocket ever.

[@peadarr]

Did you watch the first half of the video where he spends most of the time explaining why it wasn't possible to build one until today?

[@k6l2t]

The less bias you have, the more you will realize that the metaphorical wheel needs to be "re-invented" a lot more than you might think.

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

@pascal jacob It was because of the 3d printing of the Tesla values right?

[@THE-X-Force]

This was incredibly well presented and explained. I learned a lot. Thanks for the great video!

[@yaseen157]

How exciting! I was fortunate enough to work on a detonation research project for my master's thesis at university. It took us something like 7 different tests over a month long test campaign to finally get a detonation, very finnicky stuff!

[@Tron-Jockey]

Did anyone else notice that that design of the special inlet/injector valves (referred to as fluid diodes), shown at 10:54, is a version of Nikola Tesla's "fixed-geometry passive check valve designed to allow a fluid to flow preferentially in one direction, without moving parts", patented in 1920, U.S. Patent 1,329,559. I believe this was confirmed by UPI Science News article, May 17, 2021

[@benoit-pierredemaine3824]

yup. many other comments talk about it.

[@TheDJOblivion]

Tesla was such a technological genius. His understanding of electrical/magnetic mechanics and fluid dynamics is unmatched. We desperately need a new newton/tesla/Einstein guy.

[@user-tm9qs7jo9j]

Every single person went straight to Tesla valves immediately

[@CHMichael]

Tesla valve - it's amazing what 3d printing has done so far and the possibilities we can't even imagine today.

[@stints]

That man truly revolutionized everything.

[@catalintimofti1117]

​@@stints he really advanced mankind And as a reward he was hated and shunned We didnt deserve this man

[@AllisterCaine]

Yup... It's absolutely mind blowing times we live in. Can't be long until cancer will be a thing of the past and and we have will be bothered by the problems coming from humans living forever...

[@damonedrington3453]

Once we learn to 3D print some more varied materials I expect the technology to explode a la computers in the 90s and early-mid 2000s

[@mattshu]

why wasn't he mentioned once during that part?

[@DJAYPAZ]

Very interesting video. A complex topic is explained clearly without an overuse of jargon. The great visuals help with comprehension.

[@twistedyogert]

If Dr. Wernher von Braun was still alive he'd be mesmerized. Detonation was his nemesis when he helped design the N1, and now NASA could possibly use it as the literal beating heart of future rockets.

[@recurshawn]

The last time I was this early, we were still sending manned missions to the Moon

[@Merennulli]

This is a lot further than I thought this design would get. I am stunned.

[@MsShirepony]

11:01 This is a Tesla valve, it's been around for over a century. Fascinating it's seeing use again in such cutting edge technology.

[@csbanki]

Those nozzle explanations were amazing. Simple and very effective, well done! Thank you!

[@youtubecommenter-on9kd]

Interesting choice. Putting out a video on such a REVOLUTIONARY technology on April 1st...

[@pscheidt]

Finally! A real use for the Tesla Valve.

[@sakiskarakasidis]

👍

[@witchdoctor6502]

RDE is an amazing engine and aerospike with it, is a nice bonus. Also your animations are great.

[@justinhardman1866]

Wasn't sure what this video was going to be about but was throughly surprised to see the pde long-ez. Its a very interesting concept. Would be intwresting to see them use another long-ez to test an RDE engine one day.

[@draglorde]

I love the animations and the sound effects. a lot of research was very well presented! thank you for this great video

[@theomaia1460]

this looks like a really interesting video, I hope its not april fools

[@truvc]

YEEEEEES!!! I’ve been wanting an in depth look at RDEs ever since I first heard of them years ago.

[@billlhooo6485]

Good to know that 3d metal printing is coming more viable and more cheaper.

[@Harry-wx3nf]

Good videos man. I love how you explain everything, I learn a lot.

[@mauricep6924]

I’ve always been obsessed with Aerospike Rocket Engines and was disappointed that they never made it past testing phases. There is hope still yet!

[@camrodam]

Had subtitling on by accident, and noticed what looked like a citation reference (never noticed that before). The joy of then actually finding those references in the video description is indescribable! Yay for references!

[@AniMageNeBy]

Interesting! Heard about this some years ago, but back then it was considered not viable because of instability. Guess they're slowly getting better.

[@slinkeyj3]

That's the game of science, research, and engineering lol. Always trying to push the boundaries of what's possible. You find a breakthrough that allows a new concept to work, but then you need to research and develop it to allow for said concept to be able to function more efficiently and/or longer. Rinse and repeat when you think you've hit the limit of current technology lol

[@zylaaeria2627]

Really have to appreciate the precision modern engineering allows. Crazy to think this stuff was only conceiveable even just a decade ago. This stuff won't just affect rocketry. Give it time & it will improve just about every other vehicle you could think of.

[@mikem7121]

Excellent video, would like to hear more about potential applications of the Oblique Wave Detonation Engine (OWDE) which is a more efficient variant of this.

[@Marisa_arts]

I'm not sure if I said this bey, but I was making and thinking about this type of engine for my sci-fi settings and I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who have since it is really cool and just a system we need! Other than that it is an Aerospike Bell Cone Thruster combo with the spike being just exposed enough for the flames to reach. Though there are some issues I see when it comes to Space use and that is the fact that we don't have an atmosphere to keep the pressure intact. One solution I thought about was to make the cone retractable to get a traditional bell thruster but still keep the normal pulse feature so it can still be on trajectory. Other than that, fusion or ion systems can help with that once there.

[@detechno436]

It's great that pressure-volume diagrams are used to compare efficiencies. However I think that the horizontal line from 1->2 in the diagram of the gas turbine is not about the compressor? The compression process is an adiabatic process that increases the pressure and temperature, which should be 2->3. The flat line is where the open-loop gas turbine engine gets cool, fresh gas from the atmosphere, so the pressure is the same, but the volume is much lower because the gas coming in is cooler than the engine's exhaust.

[@AeroconX]

I agree

[@darkxxprincexx]

A new aerospace video! Thank you Real Engineering!

[@adawg3032]

This is so cool. At supersonic airflows, beurnellis principle reverses in the sense that a divergent duct exhaust will increase the velocity of the charge. F=M(A) says that the faster the fire shoots out of the flame end, the more the pointy end goes up

[@HaywoodsBlueTiger4]

Your information is just rounding the numbers. Everything is good from what I’ve seen. Good video.

[@Lucas-ys7qq]

First explanation of RDE that I actually understand. Awesome!

[@scottrlindell596]

Great job by the graphics team - really helped in explaining things. What I love is the thinking: "So, we don't have any material that can support use making a rocket whose exhaust is supersonic all the time?" "Right, but we do have material that can support supersonic exhaust SOME of the time." "I know! Let's rotate it!"

[@brynclarke1746]

To be pedantic, all rocket *exhaust* is supersonic, it's having a supersonic flame front in the combustion chamber (and thus having combustion at a higher pressure than the fuel/oxidiser is delivered at) which is new

[@Scott_C]

13:30 Everyday astronaut has an aerospike engine video. It's a great source for more aerospike engine info.

[@randomdude8877]

Pretty awesome tech. I love to see those "small" steps towards a different future for human civilization.

[@varunahlawat9013]

Fingerprints on the laptop screen in the animation made me realise that you've gone so far in 3d renderings. I appreciate it man!

[@radpixelbomb659]

I learn more from your videos than I do from science class

[@brentwilbur]

Except when he spews climate change nonsense.

[@scottnj2503]

This is IMHO, the unintended but not surprising result of "No Child Left Behind" and underfunding of the public education system on whole. If you are a HS or College student. Good on ya for seeking more knowledge.

[@gilbertlopez]

climate change is real, humanity is worsening the effects

[@andrzejostrowski5579]

No, you don’t.

[@mrcat5508]

@@andrzejostrowski5579what

[@thierryvt]

10:50 isn't that an adaption of the Tesla valve? Also 12:40 that explains why the falcon rockets exhaust plumes seem to expand so much as they get higher. Fascinating video as always, thanks!

[@virutech32]

Absolutely gorgeous visuals, just WOW

[@travisjohnson6703]

I didn't know someone pulled off a full scale test of one of these! Amazing!

[@allisterlobo7107]

damn that unidirectional valve is amazing. Thanks Nikola

[@edwardsunnyboy]

What a coincidence that you published this video as I'm studying compressible supersonic flow for my aerospace class 💀

[@ok0_0]

[@whynotanyting]

It awesome seeing new improvements in tech being developed. It's easy to think that everything's been discovered and explored, yet our best photos of Pluto came from New Horizons in 2015. I always assumed we had high quality photos from years prior, but no, we're still learning.

[@Gordofilms7]

the fluid diode injectors are such a simple, elegant solution to the backflow problem

[@skgough4386]

The 3D rendering in your recent videos has been on another level! Is Mustard doing the modeling?

[@michaelogden5958]

Very creative! I hope they get it all worked out! Thanks for the video!

[@jamesmantovani8620]

Would love a dedicated aerospike video 😍 this one was fantastic!

[@garrusarchangel4562]

When I watch videos like this, it makes me believe in humanity and our future. We have many huge problems: climate change, pollution, wars, energy deficit, extinctions of species, and so on. But we can overcome everything! Thanks for the inspiration:)

[@Angl0sax0nknight]

Love the engineering of these videos, it’s amazing what can be designed and the innovation to overcome problems.

[@TippyHippy]

I put my hamster in a sock and slammed it against the furniture.

[@sharkbitesback2749]

@@TippyHippyjust because of you im liking this comment

[@Me-0063]

Love your videos bryan, keep it up!

[@macmaccourt]

You Sir, are amazing! Great channel, great info, great presentations, always!

[@i-love-space390]

The injector flow channel geometry looks quite similar to the Tesla patent for a one way fluid flow valvular conduit. It is also fascinating that the output nozzle of the engine looks to be like an aerospike design.

[@sirati9770]

Turn out you wrote this comment before finishing the video

[@Raven.907]

You just had to release this on April 1st didn't you lol The first 5 minutes I thought this is going to end up being a joke of some kind

[@mycosys]

the ol' double bamboozle ;)

[@Youbetternowatchthis]

Absolutely wild! That injection inlet design and manufacturing alone has surpassed engineering and became magic. This is beyond insane. The wild stuff humanity can do nowadays keeps blowing my mind... Oh and NASA still got it!

[@leadboots72]

It's a tesla valve.

[@Youbetternowatchthis]

@@leadboots72 holy **** it's true. This man really was ahead of his time!

[@leadboots72]

@@Youbetternowatchthis Yes he was.

[@ExSheriffFattyBoySkinnyArms]

This was so fascinating I will be watching this episode again. Having ADD doesn’t help but that’s besides the point.

[@FourthRoot]

The synergistic effects of these design approaches are fascinating and ingenius. What is notmally a disadvantage of both aerospikes and detonation engines is the requirement for a large annular combustion chamber, thus when combined they effectively offset half that the disadvantage. Another propulsion system that can benefit from this synergy is the expansion cycle turbopump. Expansion cycle engines require a large combustion chamber surface area and thus are normally limited in size due to the square cube law. But the larger area and high heat load of an annular detonation engine is ideally suited to this particular pumping cycle which offers ideal propulsive efficiency. You can also opperate the engine much closer to stoicheometric. This is why I believe an expansion cycle rotating detonation engine with an aerospike nozzle is the holy grail of chemical rocket engines.

[@Grimm211]

The Rocket/Turbine Cycle - Brayton Cycle described at 8:01 got it wrong. 2-3-4-1 is the order he described in the video. 2->3 compression 3->4 burning fuel 4->1 expansion 1->2 exhaust kzbin.info/www/bejne/rX2od4qfZsmKo7s Got a good explanation

[@badapple2221]

Thank you very much

[@wagnerrp]

You're not suggesting that the purpose of a compressor is to increase pressure, are you?

[@derMor97]

@@wagnerrp That is the purpose of a compressor

[@integza]

Gotta love the almighty RDE

[@davidaugustofc2574]

The tomato king is here

[@fiercemonkey1]

Homie, you so need to build one! But, please do it safely, and keep trying if you don’t succeed. 😊 also, love ur vids, and maybe run it at a much slower rotational velocity and maybe use some “em” fields to stabilize the flowing plasma? Think about it, you can fry a lot of tomatoes 🍅 with that kind of boom 💥

[@willbrink]

We need to decide on a tech for the next big breakthrough in propulsion, and focus on it!

[@andrewd.5583]

NTP (nuclear thermal propulsion) engine next? I've recently read about these and would love to see how you explain them.

[@jewymchoser]

An exceptional video... made my day!

[@fuckYTIDontWantToUseMyRealName]

I'm really happy that an aerospike style engine is getting some attention outside of greenscam startups.

[@Appletank8]

Everyday Astronaut did a good video on the setbacks of Aerospike engines, chief among them is the massive amounts of heat the spike needs to endure with few ways of cooling, which often results in self destruction.

[@Br3ttM]

Some of the advancements that allowed this engine were an alloy good at resisting and conducting heat, while being 3d printed to put in cooling channels that couldn't be machined.

[@slinkeyj3]

Yuuup. And that probably has a LARGE team of researchers and engineers by itself just trying to improve upon it's longevity lol. It's crazy how many people will be dedicated to improving and developing just one singular component

[@minemasterSAM]

This boutta be good

[@Cheebzsta]

So I'm a big Tesla turbine enthusiast and, having come to accept its limitations, got into trying to understand the hypothetical areas where it would at least be uniquely advantaged. One of those was its ability to eat pressure waves without issue and the fact that assembled alternative patents outright paired his fluid diode (the "Tesla valve" or valvular conduit) with the combustion chamber. Been playing with that idea in my head of a rotating detonation rocket engine utilizing the valvular conduit for years (something Integza's talked about) and to see 11:00 made me throw my arms up in celebration. Us Tesla valve detonation lovers were right!

[@prasiddharajgurung]

That man was too ahead of his time

[@randomdude8877]

The Tesla Valve but arranged differently basically? Cool stuff

[@IncroyablesExperiences]

Very very interesting! Thanks for your work About the PV chart I'm not sure the the compressor "decreases the volume at constant pressure" (it's the heat exchanger in a power plant or new fresh air intake in an aircraft turbine), the compressor is more likely the step 2 to 3 is your diagram. The intake is point 2 :)

[@franzperdido]

yeah, this part also made me think. I think you're right and it's not correctly explained in the video.

[@gingerbread2771]

I thought rotating detonation engine prototypes were a thing for a while., is there anything special about this one that I'm unaware of? In any case, great video!

[@badapple2221]

It actually worked for quite a long time, before this one theyd either not work or explode.

[@adamh1228]

they have been, but im pretty sure only recently have they been able to run the RDES for minutes at a time, rather than seconds.

[@t_c5266]

Yes, it actually runs

[@leadboots72]

Yes. Now it comes with electrolytes.

[@cjwrench07]

Those prototypes all have inherent design flaws due to the materials used. NASA’s new design, allowed by the invention of the new copper alloy, is the major revolution.

[@HuntingTarg]

6:00 I remember Scott Manley covering this in a video on the development of the F-1 engine. I love how NASA made a literal bomb-proof engine. 8:50 Interesting that the increases in thermodynamic efficiency for Hydrogen and Methane are almost the same. Also, the fact that the exhaust travels at multi-Mach speeds should make for an excellent booster engine. Perhaps SpaceX will purchase something from NASA for once.

[@mobiuscoreindustries]

That is correct but there is also likely going to be severe scaling issues just like flow instability isn't an issue for small chambers but became lethal for the F-1. The larger the chamber, the more the fluctuations will increase, both with higher highs and lower lows. This may make scaling the engine more difficult. Also, I can see how flow rate for such an engine could be limited. Due to needing to constrain the combustion more, you will obviously end up with less mass flowing through your system. Which isn't a problem for orbital stages, because there only efficiency matters. But during ascent to orbit, thrust matters just as much, and usually far more. Not only do you actually need a set amount of thrust to just get off the ground, but you gain far more payload to orbit by spending less time losing energy to gravity, even if the engine ends up being less efficient. We saw this with raptor engine development, and how via changes to their thrust and the vehicle's flight enveloppe, increasing thrust and spending less time fighting gravity, they basically doubled the initial payload despite some losses on the ISP of the vacuum engine. A far better trade than a 5% efficiency increase. I see this absolutely sweeping high energy upper stages tho. Stuff that still need to fight gravity for a bit but also needs to fling things far away.

[@julianmorrisco]

I’d never heard of a liquid diode! What an amazing application of knowledge to come up with a simple, in concept if not manufacture, solution. Brilliant idea. Basically a solid state liquid valve.

[@elburropeligroso4689]

It's a Tesla valve

[@xandon24]

One of the major things to understand is that controlling a chaotic system is the EASY part. We can use machine learning to do that consistently, the hard part is MODELING the system accurately enough for a machine learning algorithm to come to a correct solution.

[@anmolgupta-bj5ce]

Real way to learn engineering. Thankyou 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@damianw.415]

Nah. Mathematics are the real way.

[@anmolgupta-bj5ce]

Mathematics is a tool used to answer questions for physics 🙏

[@ardag1439]

I love seeing rockets rotate and detonate but this isn't too bad either.

[@vast634]

As long as the fuse is long enough to get away

[@chrisperrywv]

Man I could watch that animation forever.

[@admiralcapn]

Makes me wonder if spaceflight is getting close to actually replicating the Kerbal-style "asparagus" engine configuration that's so efficient (yet relies so heavily on the plumbing not failing ever).

[@rickhobson3211]

You mentioned comparing a d-engine to a gas turbine engine. I wonder if an air-breathing detonation engine. A 5% increase of efficiency would greatly benefit air travel too!

[@litkeys3497]

DARPA is trying to build an air-breathing RDE to put on missiles & aircraft. My understanding is you could potentially get 25% longer range on the same fuel, which would be HUGE. Only caveat is that the use case is probably limited to supersonic aircraft which means we probably won't see them replacing high bypass turbofans on airliners soon

[@EveryoneWhoUsesThisTV]

Pulse and rotating detonation engines are crazy loud, but can be used in high-altitude air travel... :) Effic increase should be more around 25% Pulse detonation engines are already around 25% more efficient, so rotating should be too, or they won't bother with them... NASA have a pulse detonation engine powered aircraft...

[@yesyes-om1po]

airlines have tight margins, I think this could only be used for extremely expensive private jets meant for the likes of Bezos. A 5% increase isn't much at a Jet's level. It is a modest figure in that regard, not game changing but still welcome.

[@jonnysolaris]

Unbelievable quality of visualisations + content! TV is dead. Long live YT creators!

[@godspeed133]

as good as any beeb doc for sure, and they don't have some exec telling them what is and isn't allowed in (regardless of political affiliation)

[@elliotrobinson4484]

Might be worth pointing out variable geometry nozzles on fighter jets are fitted to control the pressure at turbine exit when an afterburner is in use (turbines in jet engines are very fussy when it comes to the back pressure). I've never heard of them being used for ideal exhaust gas expansion to maximise efficiency however this could be a secondary function.

[@adamt7667]

You're right, it would be virtually impossible to use a fixed nozzle for a reheated engine, the throat area has to vary. Most modern combat engines do vary the divergent area (A9) as well either independently or through a slaved mechanism. There is a relatively significant thrust benefit at higher nozzle pressure ratios by more ideally expanding the hot gas, so given the geometry has to vary anyway it's generally worth the small additional weight/complexity to also vary A9.

[@solastro5595]

The return of the aerospike engines, I'm so happy.

[@NochSoEinKaddiFan]

The topics you cover and the way you cover them is awesome and the render sequences are just sick, I sometimes forget that they are rendered

[@gopallohar5534]

13:30 Please make a video on AEROSPIKE ENGINE, it will amazing...

[@CarlosAM1]

watch everyday astronaut's video on it

[@gopallohar5534]

@@CarlosAM1 I've watched that (big fan) but I am still confused 🤔 so...

[@therichieboy]

For more info on aerospike engines, I highly recommend the Everyday Astronaut video on it.

[@DexyD20]

I've been asking for a rotating detonation engine with an aerospike for a while now, so its crazy the first one I'd see would be from NASA!

[@henrypotter3024]

When he started talking about 3d-printing the engine my mind started to wander to something like a nanobot that could actually remove material to build it. Then I realized that if we actually had nanobots, they could actually build the materials as close to perfect as we can get.

[@OriginalAustinOblivion]

They’d be perfect precision machines, though, I feel they’d be used in the medical field far more than they’d be used in any other sector for the exact same reasons. Oh, also 3D printing might even give way to nanobot technology

[@Martin-zd8eb]

Oh laser 3D Metal printers can construct in nm scale....but for this application it's not needed

[@andrewreynolds912]

I saw this on new atlas, and it was nuts when I saw the vid of its testing

[@ImposterMalone]

Someone's gonna build a Pod Racer out of this. May the Force be with them!

[@jpteknoman]

for most people, 5% doesn't sound as much of a difference because the average person thinks on a small number scale. a 5% discount on something that costs 50 bucks (an small everyday number) is 2.5 which is pretty much nothing, but a 5% discount on something worth a million is $50k which is significant.

[@robob4465]

The thing is,with all the fancy and shiny manufacturing tech involved,it'll likely actually be more expensive than a disposable bell nozzle when you compare total launch costs. Hopefully the engine itself is light enough to at least build extended range rockets