Burst Test of Volute Casings for Liquid Rocket Turbopump

Volute casings for liquid rocket turbopump are designed and evaluated in a structural point of view. At the design step 3D modeling and finite element analyses are conducted iteratively. During the step various loads such as internal pressure, casing stiffness and mounting forces are considered in the analyses, along with the weight minimization effort. After the design step volute casings are manufactured by metal casting process, and then they are subjected to burst test for structural verification. In the burst test strains at several points are measured and compared with predicted values.