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Experimental Investigations of Mass Flow Rate on Regression Rate of Hybrid Rocket
Abstract
A number of practical hybrid propulsion systems developed for booster and upper stage application,
at different Centers across the globe. The regression rate of hybrid fuel plays an important role on
development of viable hybrid propulsion system. In the present investigation an effort has been made
to study the regression rate behavior of PVC-DBP((C 2 H 3 Cl) n )-DBP(C 16 H 22 O 4 ) hybrid fuel burning in
the stream of gaseous oxygen using two different Swirl Injectors and a conventional Shower Head
Injector. In all the cases, the oxygen injection has been varied from 20bar (290 psi) and 40.68 bar
(590 psi). The local regression rate has been determined all along the grain length, measuring the
remaining web at each locations of the grain and assuming a uniform fuel consumption rate in small
interval of burning time of ten seconds or less. The local regression rate has been found to increase
with injection pressure at each location of grain for all the cases. The average regression rate of
PVC-DBP-DBP hybrid fuel has been found to increase with injection pressure, however this value is
highest for Swirl Injector, SWA and lowest for Shower Head Injector, while Swirl Injector SWB
resulted in values in between. The dependence of average regression rate on the injection pressure
has been found to follow a power law relationship. The fuel mass consumption rate has also been
found to increase with injection pressure and to follow a power law variation with injection pressure.
However, mass consumption rate is more pronounced in case of Swirl Injectors, and the pressure
exponent for Swirl Injectors have been found to be more than twice than that of Shower Head
Injector, similar to the case of average regression rate. The data have been analyzed in the light of
available combustion models and have been matched with experimental results. The Swirl Injectors
have been found to enhance the fuel regression, and, for the same oxidizer mass flow rate, it is
expected to result in higher thrust levels. The visual recordings indicate lower combustion efficiency
and movement towards fuel rich exhaust with condensed smoke; however, with the increase in
injection and combustion chamber pressure, higher combustion efficiency has been obtained with
higher regression rate as presented in Figure and table.
Keywords
References
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