Sierra Engineering Banner
RocketWeb

Component Design

Sierra Engineering specializes in the design of cooling chambers, injectors, igniters, nozzles, and other rocket engine components.


[Chambers]     [Injectors]     [Nozzles]    [Igniters]


Sierra utilizes SolidWorks to generate 3D models and drawings, and has extensive experience with Pro/Engineer.  We have an extensive understanding of standard (and non-standard) manufacturing processes, and associated costs for metals, exotics, and composites.

Combustion Chamber Design

Sierra Engineering has experience designing, analyzing, and testing the following types of combustion chamber cooling methods and devices:

Sierra Engineering uses several analysis tools to aid in the design of combustion chambers:

Sierra recently tested (video) an adaptive cooling device (patent pending) and a duct cooled device at Purdue University.

Back to Top

Injector Design

Sierra Engineering has over 30 years of experience in designing, analyzing, and testing liquid rocket engine injectors.  Injector designs encompass the following types of elements:


Many of the Sierra designs have demonstrated high performance and stable operation.  Sierra is one of very few small companies that have expertise in diagnosing and solving combustion instability problems.

Sierra has solved multiple low frequency and chug instabilities as well as high frequency screech instabilities.

Back to Top

Nozzle Design

RAO "Perfect" Nozzle

Sierra engineering performs full nozzle optimizations that accurately predict weight and meet thermo-structural requirements. Nozzle designs vary from ablative to non-ablative, composite to metallic, and with complexity such as regenerative cooling channels.

Back to Top


Igniter Design

We have successfully designed several different types of igniters, typically of the torch-type, for OX/H2 and OX/CH4 systems, using both gas and liquid entrance conditions.

Back to Top