Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Engineering (MSE)

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

Robert A. Frederick, Jr.

Committee Member

David Lineberry

Committee Member

Gabe Xu

Subject(s)

Hybrid propellant rockets, Rocket engines--Combustion

Abstract

Hybrid rocket motors suffer from low regression rates when compared to traditional solid rocket motors. This work investigates the regression rate of a mixed oxidizer hybrid motor using a fuel-rich solid grain with and without gaseous oxygen as an oxidizer. The approach consisted of static testing of 15 motors to determine average pressures and regression rates. Ballistic analysis used an optimization sequence to determine a regression rate model using a linear combination of solid and hybrid models. Average regression rates were observed from 0.083 to 0.213 in/s, and predicted at a range from 0.102 to 0.222 in/s with good agreement between the test and ballistic analysis results. The pressure exponents calculated were 0.531 from test data and 0.585 from the ballistic analysis. The calculated oxidizer flux exponent was 2.85 for the tests investigated. Combustion instabilities were observed during hybrid testing.

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