The experimental study on the fundamental processes involved in fuel decomposition and boundary-layer combustion in hybrid rocket motors is continuously being conducted at the High Pressure Combustion Laboratory of The Pennsylvania State University. This research will provide a useful engineering technology base in the development of hybrid rocket motors as well as a fundamental understanding of the complex processes involved in hybrid propulsion. A high-pressure, 2-D slab motor has been designed, manufactured, and utilized for conducting seven test firings using HTPB fuel processed at PSU. A total of 20 fuel slabs have been received from the Mcdonnell Douglas Aerospace Corporation. Ten of these fuel slabs contain an array of fine-wire thermocouples for measuring solid fuel surface and subsurface temperatures. Diagnostic instrumentation used in the test include high-frequency pressure transducers for measuring static and dynamic motor pressures and fine-wire thermocouples for measuring solid fuel surface and subsurface temperatures. The ultrasonic pulse-echo technique as well as a real-time x-ray radiography system have been used to obtain independent measurements of instantaneous solid fuel regression rates.
Fundamental Phenomena on Fuel Decomposition and Boundary-Layer Combustion Processes with Applications to Hybrid Rocket Motors
1995
32 pages
Report
No indication
English
Rocket Propellants , Rocket Engines & Motors , Combustion & Ignition , Combustion physics , Htpb propellants , Hybrid propellant rocket engines , Hybrid propulsion , Propellant combustion , Propellant decomposition , Rocket firing , Static firing , Boundary layers , Combustion temperature , Gas-solid interactions , Radiative transfer , Radiography , Thrust chamber pressure , Ultrasonic tests