Introduction to Rocket Propulsion
Solid Rocket Motors: Part 1 - Introduction
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Outline
• Basic architecture and design
• Relations and propellant burn rate
• Grain configurations
• Propellant types and mixtures
• Propellant grain stress and strain
• Boosters and attitude control
https://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/propulsion/rocket/solid-rocket2.jpg
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Classification
Solid rocket motors typically consist of a grain,
igniter, casing and nozzle
• The grain is the propellant mixture and is
typically cast into a cylindrical shape with a
port running axially through it
• The igniter starts the burning process which
produces pressure and thrust
• The casing is the container wherein the
propellent is fit
• The combusted products (at very high
temperatures and pressures) are evacuated
out a CD nozzle
Taylor, T (2009). Introduction to Rocket Science and Engineering. United States of America: Taylor and
Francis Group. 159.
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Classification
Solid rocket motors take on
many different shapes and
configurations depending on
their application. Grains are
often shaped in order to achieve
a specific throttling regime.
Motor cases are typically made
out of steel, titanium or
specialized composites. The
inner surface of the casing must
be protected from the extreme Sutton, G; Biblarz, O (2017). Rocket Propulsion Elements. 9th ed. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. 468.
temperatures
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Applications
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Applications
Atlas V SRB and typical tactical missile configuration below.
Sutton, G; Biblarz, O (2017). Rocket Propulsion Elements. 9th ed. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. 438.
Sutton, G; Biblarz, O (2017). Rocket Propulsion Elements. 9th ed. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. 439.
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Fundamentals
A solid rocket motor’s operation and its design depend on the
propellant’s combustion characteristics such as burning rate, burning
surface, and grain geometry. The mass flow rate of a particular propellant
is generally defined as:
Where is the density of the propellant prior to ignition, is the surface
area of the grain exposed to burning, and is the burn rate (regression
rate). Therefore:
The burning rate can be increased/modified by: 1) Higher temperatures of
solid propellant prior to start. 2) Higher combustion gas pressures. 3)
Higher combustion gas temperatures. 4) Higher gas flow velocities parallel
to burning surface. 5) Rocket motor motions (accelerations and spin-
induced grain stress).
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Fundamentals
Below is a diagram of successive burning contours, spaced apart evenly
temporally. The grain is initially in a “star” shape consisting of a circular port and
five slots cut through the grain. These slots were made to increase the burning
surface area of the grain and therefore the mass flow rate and thrust of the
motor. Note that as the grain burns the surface area becomes smaller and the
thrust subsequently decreases.
Sutton, G; Biblarz, O (2017). Rocket Propulsion Elements. 9th ed. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. 441.
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Fundamentals
Hill, PH; Peterson, CR (1992). Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Propulsion. 2nd ed. USA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. 600.
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Flow Relations
To determine mass flow rate out the nozzle:
Rate of gas generation
This represents the
mass flow rate of
Rate of change of storage of the hot combusted products
gas in the combustion chamber out and through the
volume. This term is very small nozzle. Look for this
under steady operating equation in the
circumstances and can usually be nozzle lecture series.
neglected
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Burn Rate
The burn rate of a solid rocket motor (SRM) has been both theoretically and
experimentally determined to be a function of chamber pressure:
Where and are empirically defined constants dependent on the physical and
chemical properties of the SRM grain considered. The variable is called the
burning rate coefficient and is called the burning rate exponent. This equation is
essentially a curve fit of experimental data.
The burn rate can be further augmented by high gas velocity down the port of the
grain. This phenomenon is known as erosion burning.
Recall:
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Burn Rate
Heister, SD; Anderson, WE; Pourpoint, TL; Cassady, RJ (2019). Rocket Propulsion. Online: Cambridge University Press.
231.
The web distance represents the distance the surface has burned to relative to its
initial position. This distance will increase over time. In other words:
Or:
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