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Numerical study of the hybrid rocket engine

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Abstract

Hybrid rocket engines have gathered significant attention due to their ease of use, safety, and affordability associated with traditional chemical propulsion systems. They offer the advantage of on-demand throttle and thrust adjustments. The performance of hybrid rocket engines depends on the regression rate, which is the transition of the solid fuel grain to flammable gas. Unlike solid and liquid engines, hybrids experience varying oxidizer-to-fuel (O/F) ratios over time. Factors such as changes in oxidizer flow and fuel port diameter contribute to this fluctuation, leading to incomplete combustion and reduced efficiency. To enhance hybrid rocket engine performance, ongoing research explores various methods. One approach is increasing the oxidizer flow velocity over the burning fuel surface. This paper employs analytical and numerical techniques to determine the effective oxidizer/fuel ratio for a single-port fuel grain in a hybrid rocket engine. Ultimately, the research aims to optimize performance, allowing this secure and efficient propulsion technology to mature.

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Abbreviations

P c :

Combustion chamber pressure in N/m2

I sp :

Specific impulse in second

C*:

Characteristic velocity or C-star in m/sec

T cc :

Temperature in combustion chamber in Kelvin

Wt.:

Weight in Newton

GOX:

Gaseous oxygen (dimensionless)

HRE:

Hybrid rocket engine (dimensionless)

CEA:

Chemical equilibrium with applications (dimensionless)

CFD:

Computational fluid dynamics (dimensionless)

HTPB:

Hydroxyl-terminated poly-butadiene (dimensionless)

O/F:

Oxidizer/fuel (dimensionless)

C f :

Coefficient of force (dimensionless)

\({\dot{m}}_{{\text{p}}}\) :

Propellant mass flow rate in kg/s

\({D}_{{\text{ext}},{\text{g}}}\) :

Solid fuel grain external diameter in mm

\({D}_{{\text{int}},{\text{g}}}\) :

Solid fuel grain internal diameter in mm

\({D}_{{\text{int}},{\text{g}}}\left(0\right)\) :

Fuel grain initial internal diameter/port diameter in mm

\({G}_{{\text{ox}}}(0)\) :

Oxidizer mass flux at the beginning in kg/m2 s

\({L}_{{\text{g}}}\) :

Length of Fuel grain in mm

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Aeronautical Engineering, MRCET, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500100, India

    C. Ommounica & Sachin Srivastava

  2. Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Subham Haldar

Authors
  1. C. Ommounica
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  2. Sachin Srivastava
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  3. Subham Haldar
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Correspondence to Sachin Srivastava.

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Ommounica, C., Srivastava, S. & Haldar, S. Numerical study of the hybrid rocket engine. AS (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42401-024-00280-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42401-024-00280-7

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