Performance of Mixture-Ratio-Controlled Hybrid Rockets for Nominal Fuel Regression

Ozawa, Keiya; Shimada, Toru

doi:10.2514/1.b37665

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…On a related note, closed-loop control has been investigated for A-SOFT (Altering-intensity Swirling Oxidizer Flow Type) engines [87,91]; however, the goal in these studies was to minimize the O/F shift. Therefore, the studies concerning this issue are discussed in Section 3.5.…”

Section: Repeatability and Active Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two major concepts have been investigated to counter the O/F shift: A-SOFT [87,91], and HREs in which a portion of the oxidizer is injected at the aft end of the chamber [105,107,108]. These aft chamber designs can change the O/F directly by varying the amount of oxidizer injected in the aft chamber without impacting the regression rate.…”

Section: Oxidizer-to-fuel Ratio Shiftmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In both engine designs, instantaneously determining the regression rate, and consequently the current O/F, is difficult and poses the biggest problem for closing the feedback loop [87]. In flight simulations, O/F-controlled sounding rockets show up to 2.42% increased I sp and 8.1% higher altitude than uncontrolled rockets [91].…”

Section: Oxidizer-to-fuel Ratio Shiftmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bridging the Technology Gap: Strategies for Hybrid Rocket Engines

Glaser,

Hijlkema,

Anthoine

2023

Aerospace

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Hybrid rocket propulsion, first demonstrated by the Russian GIRD-09 rocket in 1933, combines liquid oxidizer and solid fuel for thrust generation. Despite numerous advantages, such as enhanced safety, controllability, and potential environmental benefits, hybrid propulsion has yet to achieve its full potential in space applications. In recent years, the research on hybrid propulsion has gained enormous momentum in both academia and industry. Recent accomplishments such as the altitude record for student rockets (64 km), the launch of the first electric pump-fed hybrid rocket, and a successful 25 s hovering test highlight the potential of hybrid rockets. However, although the hybrid community is growing constantly, industrial utilizations and in-space validations do not yet exist. In this work, we reassess the possibilities of hybrid rocket engines by presenting potential fields of applications from the literature. Most importantly, we identify the technical challenges that hinder the breakthrough of hybrid propulsion in the space sector and evaluate the technologies and approaches necessary to bridge the gaps in hybrid rocket development.

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Section: Repeatability and Active Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Oxidizer-to-fuel Ratio Shiftmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Oxidizer-to-fuel Ratio Shiftmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bridging the Technology Gap: Strategies for Hybrid Rocket Engines

Glaser,

Hijlkema,

Anthoine

2023

Aerospace

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“…An interesting combination of swirl and standard injection is proposed in the A-SOFT (altering-intensity swirling-flow-type) HRE [69][70][71]. This peculiar engine is under development, and proposes a tailoring of the injection conditions to control thrust at an optimal oxidizer-to-fuel-mass ratio while achieving relatively fast regression rates with a fixed motor configuration.…”

Section: Studies On Combustion Performance Enhancementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Test Activities on Hybrid Rocket Engines: Combustion Analyses and Green Storable Oxidizers—A Short Review

2023

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Hybrid rocket engines (HREs) offer a low-cost, reliable, and environmentally friendly solution for both launch and in-space applications. Hybrid propellants have been identified as green thanks to their use of non-toxic, non-carcinogenic oxidizers. Of particular relevance are storable oxidizers, namely high-concentration (≥90 wt.%) hydrogen peroxide (HP, H2O2) and nitrous oxide (N2O). This work provides a survey of experimental activities based on H2O2 and N2O for hybrid rocket propulsion applications. Open literature data are completed with original thermochemical calculations to support the discussion.

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“…The use of paraffin wax as an in-space propellant follows extensive investigation of paraffin as a hybrid rocket fuel by private companies, government researchers, and academic organizations internationally, including but not limited to such varied topics as novel fuel formulations for increased performance and combustion stability, internal geometry optimization, regression rate improvements, oxidizer swirling for improved combustion efficiency, injector design, self-pressurizing oxidizer tank dynamics, the analysis of droplet formation and combustion above the solid fuel surface, fuel/oxidizer mixture ratio control, and numerical examination of radiative wall heat flux, among many others [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

Section: A Paraffinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Centrifugal Casting of Paraffin and Beeswax for Hybrid Rockets

Stober

Sanchez

Wanyiri

et al. 2020

AIAA Propulsion and Energy 2020 Forum

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A high-level research framework is presented which seeks to navigate the barriers associated with reusing wax phase change material onboard a satellite as a hybrid rocket fuel for de-orbit or other in-space propulsion needs, while also conducting fundamental studies of the fluid mechanics and heat transfer phenomena which drive the cooling and solidification of wax within a horizontal rotating cylinder in various gravitational and thermal environments. A detailed review of past work in the area of beeswax fuel for hybrid chemical propulsion is reported and served to motivate consideration of this fuel for centrifugal casting efforts, due to previously reported values of regression rate comparable to that of paraffin wax. The production process of beeswax fuel from beekeeping detritus was perfected and documented. Analysis of the shrinkage of beeswax and the neat Candlewic FR5560 paraffin wax used herein determined a volume shrinkage percentage during liquid to solid phase transition of 18.7 ± 0.62 and 13.3 ± 0.22%, respectively. An image analysis routine was developed in order to automate the process of determining the instantaneous solidification rate for each one-second timestep through the centrifugal casting process of paraffin and beeswax fuel grain sizes common for small-scale hybrid rockets. Beeswax completed solidification in 22% less time than paraffin under identical conditions but exhibited more coning of resulting solid wax. Calculated time-and space-averaged solidification rates for paraffin and beeswax were 0.017 and 0.028 mm/s, respectively, within a 50.8 mm inner diameter, 57.15 mm outer diameter, and 254 mm length polycarbonate tube. Careful analysis, however, shows that instantaneous solidification rate increases very slightly but steadily over time for both paraffin and beeswax, though the rate increase is greater for beeswax. The image analysis routine was most effective when applied to the beeswax solidification process as compared to that of paraffin, as the solid/liquid interface is considerably more salient in beeswax due to a distinct color change upon solidification. Dye will be used with paraffin casting in the future with the goal of improving solid/liquid phase contrast.

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Performance of Mixture-Ratio-Controlled Hybrid Rockets for Nominal Fuel Regression

Cited by 10 publications

References 18 publications

Bridging the Technology Gap: Strategies for Hybrid Rocket Engines

Bridging the Technology Gap: Strategies for Hybrid Rocket Engines

Test Activities on Hybrid Rocket Engines: Combustion Analyses and Green Storable Oxidizers—A Short Review

Centrifugal Casting of Paraffin and Beeswax for Hybrid Rockets

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