A novel fuel regression measurement technique was developed using a single-port, clear polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) grain and a high-resolution camera, providing temporally and spatially resolved data in a small-scale hybrid motor. By visualizing the fully illuminated port through a flat PMMA surface, the fuel grain diameter can be measured along the axial dimension. This paper provides the details of the implementation, data processing, validation, and results from 21 hotfires. A wide range of operating conditions were tested by varying the initial diameter, the fuel grain length, the oxidizer mass flow rate, and the precombustion chamber length. The main difficulty associated with this technique is correcting the data to account for the change in index of refraction of the solid PMMA as heat soaks into the material surrounding the port. Qualitative and quantitative data can be extracted to further improve our fundamental understanding of hybrid combustion and upgrade motor designs. This new regression method is nonintrusive, low cost, and easy to implement, and it has the potential to provide reliable space–time-dependent data for laboratory-scale motors.
Optically Resolved Fuel Regression of a Clear Polymethylmethacrylate Hybrid Rocket Motor
Journal of Propulsion and Power ; 36 , 5 ; 763-772
2020-04-27
10 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
OPTICALLY RESOLVED FUEL REGRESSION OF A CLEAR PMMA HYBRID ROCKET
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