Formulation, Casting, and Evaluation of Paraffin-Based Solid Fuels Containing Energetic and Novel Additives for Hybrid Rockets(Abstract)

摘要

One of the most important factors currently preventing the practical use of hybrid rockets as boosters is the limited thrust level that can be generated from a simple port design. This limitation can be addressed either through a complex port geometry (with associated mechanical strength and fuel utilization issues) or by increasing the mass-burning rate of the oxidizer/fuel combination. A promising method to improve the regression rate of solid fuels used in hybrid rockets is to use a fuel with a high regression rate such as low melting point paraffin wax; however, additional increases to the fuel regression rate are necessary to make the fuel a viable candidate to replace current launch propulsion systems. Addition of energetic and/or nano-sized combustible particles can also increase mass-burning rates of the solid fuels and increase the overall performance of the hybrid rocket motor system. Improving the mechanical properties of the paraffin wax is also important to produce more robust solid-fuel grains. This investigation studied the effect of various additives to paraffin wax burned with gaseous oxygen in a test rig called the Long-Grain Center-Perforated (LGCP) hybrid rocket motor. Shown in Figure 1, this lab-scale motor has been used for characterization of various oxidizer and fuel formulations.