Pogo oscillation is a potentially dangerous type of self-excited combustion oscillation in liquid fuel rocket engines. This oscillation results in variations of thrust from the engines, causing variations of acceleration on the rocket's structure, giving variations in fuel pressure and flow rate. Pogo places stress on the frame of the vehicle which can be severe. Although the term is frequently written POGO, it is not an acronym, but in fact a reference to the bouncing of a pogo stick.
Famous quotes containing the words pogo and/or oscillation:
“My breast waited
shy as a clam
until you came,
Mr. Firecracker,
Mr. Panzer-man.
You with your pogo stick ...”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“In almost all climes the tortoise and the frog are among the precursors and heralds of this season, and birds fly with song and glancing plumage, and plants spring and bloom, and winds blow, to correct this slight oscillation of the poles and preserve the equilibrium of nature.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)