F-1 Rocket Engine Propellant High-Pressure Ducts
The F-1 rocket engine turbopumps each had two outlets, a fuel and a LOX discharge on the No. 1 side of the engine and a matching set 180° around the turbopump, on the No. 2 side of the engine. A set of fuel high-pressure and LOX high-pressure ducts carried the propellants from the turbopump to the fuel inlet manifold and the LOX dome, respectively. The No. 1 turbopump outlets were located farther away from the thrust chamber, so the corresponding high-pressure ducts were longer.
The fuel turbopump had a discharge pressure of 1,870 psi and a flowrate of 1,756 lb/sec or 15,621 gpm, which means that each fuel high-pressure duct carried about 7,810 gallons per minute. The LOX turbopump had a discharge pressure of 1,602 psi and a flowrate of 3,986 lb/sec or 25,063 gpm, so each LOX high-pressure duct carried about 12,532 gallons per minute.
Early F-1 engines had slightly different high-pressure ducts; the most obvious visible difference is that the fuel high-pressure ducts are straight, rather than U-shaped.
F-1 Rocket Engine Propellant High-Pressure Ducts
Select a duct to identify in the diagram at left: