The Chemical Automatics Design Bureau (KBKhA) has developed a new design for a liquid rocket engine with afterburning, in which the power scheme has been redesigned and the mass of the supporting elements reduced. The new solution has been officially registered in the Rospatent database.
The key change was a new spatial power frame that redistributes the load from the combustion chambers and support nodes. This reduces stress in the central part of the engine.
In the design, KBKhA engineers used two autonomous blocks with the ability to deflect in several planes. This maintains thrust vector control during maneuvers and reduces the load on the body.
Specialists also changed the thrust transmission path. Now it is distributed closer to the periphery of the engine, rather than concentrated in the center, which reduces structural overload and simplifies the layout.
Additionally, the connection of the supporting elements was redesigned in the power scheme, which allowed reducing mass without losing rigidity.
KBKhA Chief Designer Viktor Gorokhov claimed that Voronezh engines show higher fuel efficiency than SpaceX developments.