Abstract
The energy characteristics and theoretical performance of the hybrid rocket fuels are discussed in this paper. Aluminum (Al) and boron (B) metal additives were used to increase the energy density of the paraffin-based solid fuels. To predict the energy characteristics, the heat of combustion was evaluated by adiabatic bomb calorimetry. Theoretical performance parameters such as specific impulse (Isp), flame temperature, and characteristic velocity were obtained with NASA Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) code. Calorimetric test results revealed that paraffin/polyethylene/boron (P/PE/B)-based fuel formulations exhibited the highest heat of combustion among all the tested fuels. The heat of combustion value of the P/PE/B sample at 25 wt% B loading was found to be 9612 ±16 cal/g and 9293±17 cal/g for the P/PE/Al fuel formulation. The CEA results showed that the addition of Al to paraffin is noneffective in improving specific impulse performance. When B loading increased from 5 to 25 wt% in the P/PE/B, the Isp increased by 47 s compared to pure paraffin. A specific impulse increase implies the possible propellant mass saving. The reduction of the oxidizer and fuel masses may yield increased payload performance for given boundary conditions. The P/PE/B25 formulation has reported the highest value of characteristics velocity (C*) compared to other paraffin-based formulation.
Highlights
The commercial satellite business is growing worldwide to build a low-cost and high-performance space launch vehicle capable of placing satellites in orbit
The mean value of water equivalent after ignition wire correction and an acid correction was found to be 2439±37 cal/g. This corrected value of water equivalent was considered as standard value for calculation of heat of combustion of the paraffin-based solid fuels
The heat of combustion and theoretical performance of the paraffin fuel loaded with Al and B additives were analyzed
Summary
The commercial satellite business is growing worldwide to build a low-cost and high-performance space launch vehicle capable of placing satellites in orbit. It is essential to identify a low-cost, safe handling, and reliable propulsion system for the commercial satellite operators. The hybrid rocket propulsion system has a low recurring cost compared to a solid counterpart and increased safety compared to the liquid rocket system. The hybrid propulsion system can be considered a potential candidate for suborbital and nanosatellite launch vehicles. In addition to their inherent safety, hybrid rockets feature several advantages, such as reignition capability, thrust modulation, insensitivity to fuel cracks, and nonhazardous
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