When tested, Iron Lotus was the most powerful liquid bi-propellant engine developed by a university and the first successful liquid engine tested by BURPG. A 2,500 lbf thrust heat-sink engine, Iron Lotus completed a full test campaign in the spring of 2017.
Powered by liquid isopropanol and nitrous oxide, Iron Lotus is a heat-sink engine that produces 2,500 lbf of thrust with 500 psi of chamber pressure. The engine was developed as a low cost, low risk way to test the geometry, injector, and combustion parameters of the flight configured Lotus Dev 2 engine. Featuring a copper triplet injector with supplemental film cooling, Iron Lotus conducted multiple successful tests and concluded its campaign with flying colors.
The development of Iron Lotus not only supported the development and testing of the Lotus Dev 2 engine but it also supported BURPG’s knowledge of propulsion for many engines to come. Iron Lotus is one of BURPG’s proudest accomplishments and holds a permanent spot on our history shelf.
Iron Lotus' carbon steel heat-sink chamber and nozzle were designed and manufactured by BURPG to act as a low risk way to test the flight optimized Lotus Dev 2 engine. Iron Lotus verified nozzle geometry, injector performance, and combustion characteristics.
Utilizing storable propellants, Iron Lotus is able to achieve high performance without the cost, complexity, storability issues, or toxicity of other propellants.
| 2,553 lbf | 211 sec |
|---|---|
| The record-breaking thrust of Iron Lotus | Iron Lotus' measured specific impulse |
| 90% c* | 8.8 gal |
| Iron Lotus achieved a measured 90% combustion efficiency | The amount of fuel and oxidizer consumed by Iron Lotus in a 3 sec firing |
