liquid prop.

solid prop.

liquid prop.

solid prop.

Rocket Propulsion AE411 21

 GSLV MK III

 2S200 + L110 + C25

 3 stage vehicle
 Launch capability for GTO, LEO,
Polar and intermediate
circular orbits
 GTO P/L : 4.5 t
 LEO P/L : 10 t

Rocket Propulsion AE411 22

2014: Mars Orbiter Mission - Mangalyaan

Rocket Propulsion AE411 23

 Introduction to rocket propulsion systems

 Propulsion  Derived from the Latin word “Propellere”

 pro = forward or before ; pellere = push
  pushing forward or “act of changing the
motion of the body”

 Rocket
 Device that produces the thrust by ejecting
stored matter called “propellant”

Rocket Propulsion AE411 24

 Propulsion

 (i) Duct/Air breathing - utilises mostly the surrounding medium as

the working fluid along with some stored fuel
- eg. turbojets , ramjets
 (ii) Rocket
- carries its own propellant

 Rocket Propulsion  act of imparting the momentum to the object

in space

Rocket Propulsion AE411 25

 Propulsion systems

 Energy source: chemical , nuclear, electric, solar

 Basic function: booster stage, sustainer, altitude control, orbit station

keeping etc

 Type of vehicle: aircraft, missile, assisted take off, space vehicle

 Type of propellant: solid, liquid, hybrid etc

 Size, type of construction, number of rocket propulsion units etc.

Rocket Propulsion AE411 26

Rocket propulsion engines

 Chemical – Nuclear – Solar – Electrical

 Definition and Fundamentals (inertial frame of reference, momentum,
impulse)
 rocket principle and rocket equation
 mass ratio of a rocket
 desirable parameters of a rocket
 propulsive efficiency
 performance parameters
 staging and clustering

Rocket Propulsion AE411 27

Rocket Propulsion Engines
Chemical Rockets

 Energy from a high-pressure combustion reaction of propellant chemicals

 Based on the physical state of propellant: liquid, solid, gaseous, hybrid
 Advantage: very large thrust/unit mass of rocket
 Disadvantage: thrust/unit mass flow rate of propellant is strictly limited by
the chemical energy of the propellant :-> propellant mass carried by the
vehicle/unit impulse is large!!!
 Liquid (liquid hydrogen, oxygen, kerosene) [Engines]
 monopropellant (hydrazine), bipropellant (H2/O2, HC/O2)

 Solid (composite ammonium perchlorate, nitrate)[Motors]

 Gaseous (air, nitrogen, helium)
 Hybrid (both solid and liquid propellant)

Rocket Propulsion AE411 28

Solid Propellant Rocket Motor

 Propellant = Energy source (chemical)

 Accelerator = Nozzle
 Energy Conversion = chemical to thermal energy (combustion)
 no feed systems or valves, lower impulse

Rocket Propulsion AE411 29

Liquid Propellant Rocket Engine

 Propellant = Energy source

(chemical)
 Accelerator = Nozzle
 Energy conversion = chemical to
thermal energy – (combustion)
 needs precision valves, feed
mechanisms (pumps, turbines etc),
higher impulse

Rocket Propulsion AE411 30

Gaseous propellant rocket engines

Propellant = Energy source

(storage pressure)
Accelerator = Nozzle
 Energy conversion = pressure
energy to kinetic energy
 requires large storage volumes
 thrust decrease with pressure,
 atitude control, manoeuvring,
astronaut maneuvering unit

Rocket Propulsion AE411 31

Hybrid Rocket Engine

 Propellant = Energy source (chemical)

 Accelerator = Nozzle
 Energy conversion = chemical to thermal energy (combustion)

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SpaceShipTwo & White Knight

Company – Scaled Composites

White Knight Two – jet powered
SpaceShipTwo – rocket (HTPB & Nitrous oxide hybrid engine)

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Integral Rocket-Ramjet Propulsion

 solid rocket propulsion for booster stage

 liquid ramjet propulsion for low-level flight
Electrical Rocket Propulsion Engines

 Electric propulsion is a generic name encompassing all of the ways of

accelerating a propellant using electrical power.

 Use electrical energy for heating and /or directly ejecting propellant, utilizing
an energy source that is independent of the propellant itself
 Electrothermal Thrusters (Resistojet, Arcjet)
 Non-thermal electrical Thrusters (Electrostatic or Ion Engines;
electromagnetic or magneto plasma engine)
 Handicapped by heavy and inefficient power sources

Rocket Propulsion AE411 35

Electrical Rocket Propulsion

Arc Heating Electric

Rocket Propulsion

One way to heat a stream of gas is to use a controlled electrical discharge

(arc).
Propellant = gas (eg. ammonium, H2, N2, Hydrazine decomposition
product gases)
 Energy Source = electrical (nuclear, solar or batteries)
 Accelerator = Nozzle
 Energy conversion = electrical to thermal to kinetic energy
 Very low thrust (0.005 – 1 N)
Rocket Propulsion AE411 36
Electrical Rocket Propulsion (Ion Engine)
2000 – 60,000 m/s

Propellant = neutral gas (eg. Xenon)

Energy Source = electrical (nuclear)
 Accelerator = high voltage electrostatic field across
electrodes
 Energy conversion = electrical to kinetic energy

Rocket Propulsion AE411 37

Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR)
 It can provide modulation of thrust and specfic impulse from a constant
radio frequency (RF) power source.
 It consists of three sections and the contact between the generated plasma
and wall is avoided by magnetic field present along the engine.
 Helicon antenna stage: Uses RF power to convert propellant gas into plasma.
 Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ICRH) stage: Uses RF power to heat the plasma.
 Magnetic nozzle stage: Conversion of azimuthal motion into axial motion and plasma
detachment.

Source: Ad Astra Rocket Company

Rocket Propulsion AE411 38

Microwave Electrothermal Thruster (MET)

 Converts microwave energy into

thermal (or heat) energy.
 Three main parts; microwave
applicator, resonant cavity and the
nozzle
 Plasma arc is generated by transmitting
microwave power directly into the flow
region via antenna out of this region.
 Plasma heats the propellant gas which in turn changes into thrust due to
the expansion of the gas going through the nozzle
 Pros: The MET ranks higher than resistojets in performance (claimed to
provide higher specific impulse). Because microwaves can be collected
and fed directly into the thrust chamber, it is extremely compatible with
space transport. MET can be run on water vapor as a propellant
 Cons: lowest efficiency among most other electric propulsion systems.
Relatively low thrust compared to chemical rocket engines

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Nuclear Rockets

 Working fluid is heated by nuclear energy, which subsequently is expanded

in a nozzle and ejected to a high velocity
 Nuclear Thermal
 Nuclear Electrical
 Pulsed Nuclear

Nuclear Thermal

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Nuclear Thermal Rockets

Propellant = gas
Energy source = nuclear
Accelerator = Nozzle
 Energy conversion = nuclear to thermal to kinetic energy
 release of radioactive materials
 deep space applications

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 Solar Rocket Propulsion Engines
 Solar energy is used to heat the working fluid and the hot gas is exhausted
through one or more nozzles
 Solar thermal rockets

 Propulsion power is derived from

being pushed by light reflecting
off of the mirror, instead of
traditional rocket engines
 Solar sail

Solar Sail
Solar sailing applet: “Solar Sailing School”

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Solar Thermal Rocket (concept)

Propellant = gas
Energy source = solar
Accelerator = Nozzle
 Energy conversion = solar to
thermal to kinetic energy
 deployed outside atmosphere
 storage and refuelling of working
fluid is challenging

Rocket Propulsion AE411 43

Selection of Rockets

Non-space mission Solid (1-2 or 1-4 stages), Solid or liquid

(2-3 stages, very high acceleration)
Launch to space Solid, liquid or combinations (2-4
stages), hybrid (2-4 stages)
Impulsive V in space (time-critical Small solid prop (apogee kick, etc),
maneuvers, energy change from elliptic Mono or Bi-propellant liquids (storable)
orbits, non-fuel limited situations
Low-thrust V in space (mass-limited Solar-electric systems: Arcjets (a bit
missions, non time-critical missions, faster, less Isp, Hall, Ion (slower, higher
continuous orbit corrections, near Isp)
circular orbits…) Nuclear-electric systems, Direct solar-
thermal, Pulsed Plasma Thruster (PPT)

Rocket Propulsion AE411 44