Mechanical Characterization of Paraffin-Based Hybrid Rocket Fuels

Abstract

Abstract The present work focuses on determination of the mechanical properties of paraffin-based hybrid rocket fuels. The tensile tests were performed to evaluate the ultimate tensile strength, elastic modulus and percentage elongation at break. Three classes of paraffin-based fuels such as Paraffin/Polyethylene (P/PE), Paraffin/Polyethylene/Boron (P/PE/B) and Paraffin/Polyethylene/Aluminum (P/PE/Al) were prepared with and without Stearic acid (SA). The tensile tests were performed as per ASTM standard. The paraffin sample was used as the reference. The ultimate tensile strength of the P/PE formulation increased from 14% to 39%with the increase of PE loading from 5wt.% to 15wt.% and the elastic modulus was found to increase from 114.36 MPa to 129.27 MPa. Furthermore, the addition of SA also contributed to the increase of tensile strength and elastic modulus for P/PE formulations. For the P/PE formulation, the addition of B enhanced the tensile strength from 32.7% to 47.13% with the loading of B content increased from 5wt.% to 25wt.%. The paper discusses about the effect of additives on the formulation and the optimal loading ratio without compromising on the regression factor.