In this study, the effects of fuel port geometry and fuel additives on the performance characteristics of additively manufactured solid fuels in a hybrid rocket are explored. Static rocket motor firings were used to examine the performance characteristics, such as fuel regression rate and C * efficiency. Using a baseline fuel of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), a traditional center-perforated fuel grain as well as elliptical and swirl-elliptical port geometries were considered. The effect of aluminum as a solid fuel additive to the center-perforated fuel grain and the swirl-ellipse geometry was also investigated. Custom 3-D printer filament was developed, enabling the manufacture of fuels containing 10 and 25 wt % nano-aluminum as well as 25 wt % micron-sized aluminum allowing for a direct comparison of aluminum particle concentration and size. The swirl-ellipse geometry alone improved regression rates by about 35%, while exhibiting similar C * efficiency as the center-perforated fuel grain. The combination of the addition of nano-aluminum and the swirl-ellipse geometry resulted in an overall regression rate increase of about 2.5 × compared to the baseline PMMA center-perforated grain geometry.


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    Title :

    Examining Port Geometry/Solid Loading for Additively Manufactured Fuels in Hybrid Rockets


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2020-11-23


    Size :

    9 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English