COMBUSTION OF LIQUID

PROPELLANTS

 The combustion of liquid propellants is very efficient in well-designed

thrust chambers, pre-combustion chambers, or gas generators.

 Efficiencies of 95 to 99.5% are typical compared to turbojets or furnaces,

which can range from 50 to 97%.

 This is due to the very high reaction rates at the high combustion
temperatures and the thorough mixing of fuel and oxidizer reaction
species by means of good injection distribution and gas turbulence.
• The combustion behavior is propellant dependent.

FIGURE 3.1 Division of combustion chamber into zones for analysis

 1. Injection/Atomization Zone

• Two different liquids are injected with storable propellants and with liquid-
oxygen/hydrocarbon combinations.

• They are injected through orifices at velocities typically between 7 and 60

m/sec or about 20 to 200 ft/sec.

• This first zone is heterogeneous; it contains liquids and vaporized propellant

as well as some burning hot gases.

• Chemical reactions occur in this zone, but the rate of heat generation is
relatively low.
 2.Rapid Combustion Zone

• In this zone intensive and rapid chemical reactions occur at

increasingly higher temperature.

• Any remaining liquid droplets are vaporized by convective heating

and gas pockets of fuel-rich and fuel-lean gases are mixed.

• The mixing is aided by local turbulence and diffusion of the gas

species.
 3.Stream Tube Combustion Zone

• In this zone oxidation reactions continue, but at a lower rate, and some
additional heat is released.

• However, chemical reactions continue because the mixture tends to be

driven toward an equilibrium composition.

• Since axial velocities are high (200 to 600 m/sec) the transverse
convective flow velocities become relatively small.

• Streamlines are formed and there is relatively little turbulent mixing

across streamline boundaries.
 TVC MECHANISMS WITH A SINGLE NOZZLE

• Many different mechanisms have been used successfully.

They can be classified into four categories:

1. Mechanical deflection of the nozzle or thrust chamber.

2. Insertion of heat-resistant movable bodies into the exhaust jet; these experience
aerodynamic forces and cause a deflection of a part of the exhaust gas flow.
3. Injection of fluid into the side of the diverging nozzle section, causing an
asymmetrical distortion of the supersonic exhaust flow.
4. Separate thrust-producing devices that are not part of the main flow through the
nozzle.
FIGURE 3.2 Moments applied to a flying vehicle.
FIGURE 3.3 The pitch moment applied to the vehicle is FL sin 0.
 TVC WITH MULTIPLE THRUST CHAMBERS OR NOZZLES

• Several concepts have been developed and flown that use two or more
rocket engines or a single engine or motor with two or more actuated
nozzles.

• Two fully gimballed thrust chambers or motor nozzles can provide roll
control with very slight differential angular deflections.

• For pitch and yaw control, the deflection would be larger, the same angle
and direction for both nozzles, and the deflection magnitude would be the
same for both nozzles.
FIGURE 3.4 Differential throttling with four fixed-position thrust chambers can
provide flight maneuvers.
• In the above simple diagram the shaded nozzle exits indicate a
throttled condition or reduced thrust.

• The larger forces from the unthrottled engines impose turning

moments on the vehicle.

• For roll control the nozzles are slightly inclined and their individual
thrust vectors do not go through the center of gravity of the vehicle.
 CHAPTER:4
SOLID PROPELLANT ROCKET MOTOR

SOLID ROCKET PROPELLANT

CLASSIFICATION

• Solid rocket motor propellants used to be grouped into two classes:

1.Double-base (DB) propellants

• were used as the first production propellants.

• form a homogeneous propellant grain, usually a nitrocellulose (NC), a solid ingredient which
absorbs liquid nitroglycerine (NG) plus minor percentages of additives.
 2.Composite propellants
• form a heterogeneous propellant grain with the oxidizer crystals and a powdered
fuel (usually aluminum) held together in a matrix of synthetic rubber (or plastic)
binder, such as polybutadiene (HTPB).

• Composite propellants are cast from a mix of solid (AP crystals,A1 powder) and
liquid (HTPB, PPG) ingredients.

• The propellant is hardened by crosslinking or curing the liquid binder polymer

with a small amount of curing agent, and curing it in an oven, where it becomes
hard and solid.
 PROPELLANT BURNING RATE
• The rocket motor's operation and design depend on the combustion characteristics of
the propellant, its burning rate, burning surface, and grain geometry.

• The branch of applied science describing these is known as internal ballistics.

• The burning surface of a propellant grain recedes in a direction essentially

perpendicular to the surface.

• The rate of regression, usually expressed in cm/sec, mm/sec, or in./sec, is the

burning rate r.
• Burning rate is a function of the propellant composition.

• For composite propellants it can be increased by changing the propellant

characteristics:

1. Add a burning rate catalyst, often called burning rate modifier (0.1 to 3.0% of
propellant) or increase percentage of existing catalyst.

2. Decrease the oxidizer particle size.

3. Increase oxidizer percentage.

4. Increase the heat of combustion of the binder and/or the plasticizer.

5. Imbed wires or metal staples in the propellant.

• burning rate in a full-scale motor can be increased by the following:

1. Combustion chamber pressure.

2. Initial temperature of the solid propellant prior to start.

3. Combustion gas temperature.

4. Velocity of the gas flow parallel to the burning surface.

5. Motor motion (acceleration and spin-induced grain stress).

• The burning rate of propellant in a motor is a function of many parameters,
and at any instant governs the mass flow rate of hot gas generated and
flowing from the motor (stable combustion):

= r …………………………. (4-1)

• Here Ab is the burning area of the propellant grain, r the burning rate, and
the solid propellant density prior to motor start.

• The total mass m of effective propellant burned can be determined by

integrating Eq. 4-1: ………..(4.2)
 Burning Rate Relation with Pressure

…………………(4.3)

• where r, the burn rate, is usually in centimeters per second or inches per second, and the
chamber pressure Pl is in MPa or psia; a is an empirical constant influenced by ambient
grain temperature.

• This equation applies to all the commonly used double-base, composite, or composite
double-base propellants.

• Also a is known as the temperature coefficient and it is not dimensionless.

• The burning rate exponent n, sometimes called the combustion index, is independent of the
initial grain temperature and describes the influence of chamber pressure on the burning rate.
• The sensitivity of burning rate to propellant temperature can be expressed in the form
of temperature coefficients, the two most common being with known as the
temperature sensitivity of burning rate, expressed as percent change of burning rate
per degree change in propellant temperature at a particular value of chamber pressure,
and as the temperature sensitivity of pressure expressed as percent change of chamber
pressure per degree change in propellant temperature at a particular value of K.

• Here K is a geometric function, namely the ratio of the burning surface Ab to nozzle
throat area At.

• The coefficient for a new propellant is usually calculated from strand burner test data,
and from small-scale or full-scale motors.
 … …………………(4,4)

……………..(4.5)

Figure 4.1 variation of chamber pressure and Temperature with burning time.
 …………….(4.6)

 where Pl is the reference chamber pressure and p is the pressure rise (psia) for
a value of or T- To.
 The values of and depend primarily on the nature of the propellant
burning rate, the composition, and the combustion mechanism of the propellant.
 It is possible to derive a relationship between the two temperature sensitivities,
namely
……………………………….(4.7)