Abstract
A computational tool able to perform a fast analysis of hybrid rocket engines is presented, describing briefly the mathematical and physical models used. Validation of the code is also shown: 16 different static firing tests available in the open literature are used to compare measured operational parameters such as chamber pressure, thrust, and specific impulse with the code’s output. The purpose of the program is to perform rapid evaluation and assessment on a possible first design of hybrid rockets, without relying on computationally expensive simulations or onerous experimental tests. The validated program considers as benchmark and study case the design of a liquid-oxygen/paraffin hybrid rocket engine to be used as the upper stage of a small launcher derived from VEGA building blocks. A full-factorial parametric analysis is performed for both pressure-fed and pump-fed systems to find a configuration that delivers the equivalent total impulse of a VEGA-like launcher third and fourth stage as a first evaluation. This parametric analysis is also useful to highlight how the oxidizer injection system, the fuel grain design, and the nozzle features affect the performance of the rocket.
Highlights
The distinctive feature of Hybrid Rocket Engines (HREs) is the physical separation of propellants, stored in different phases
The fuel is stored as a solid in the combustion chamber while the oxidizer is stored in a pressurized tank as a liquid or a gas, fed into the combustion chamber through a suitable injection system (Fig. 1) [21]
This particular method of propellant storage may entail some benefits with respect to both Liquid Rocket Engines (LREs) and Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs), such as safety, thrust modulation, and simplicity
Summary
The distinctive feature of Hybrid Rocket Engines (HREs) is the physical separation of propellants, stored in different phases. The fuel is stored as a solid in the combustion chamber while the oxidizer is stored in a pressurized tank as a liquid or a gas, fed into the combustion chamber through a suitable injection system (Fig. 1) [21] This particular method of propellant storage may entail some benefits with respect to both Liquid Rocket Engines (LREs) and Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs), such as safety, thrust modulation, and simplicity. The class of fuels called liquefying presents a peculiar combustion phenomenology that allows to reach a much higher regression rate These fuels form a melted layer above the grain surface which, if some conditions are satisfied, can become hydrodynamically unstable because of the shear stress exerted by the core flow. Is considered a HRE, candidate as substitute of a VEGA-like launcher third and fourth stage
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