Deep Regulation and Reusable Rocket Propulsion Using Premixed Slurry Propellant

Abstract

This paper describes a novel rocket motor using a premixed slurry monopropellant with no propellant polymerization. The slurry monopropellant is a non-Newtonian fluid that can be injected into the combustion chamber, where regulation of the flow rate allows a deeper regulation of the thrust (up to a factor of 80) than is possible in most liquid rocket motors. Multiple starts are also possible. The slurry monopropellant broadens the choices of possible propellant components, and it enables an increase in specific thrust compared with solid rocket motors while at the same time simplifying construction and reducing the cost and mass compared with liquid rocket motors. It thus retains the advantages of both liquid and solid rocket motors. A slurry monopropellant motor is envisionedtobeasaferreplacementforupper-stageliquidrocketmotors.Theexperimentalmotorsdiscussedinthis paper have thrust levels of 20 and 25 kgf and were subjected to around 200 live-fire tests. These tests confirm the viability of the slurry monopropellant motor concept.