Preliminary design of a liquid bipropellant microfabricated rocket engine
Name
42265986-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
6.88 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
e11cc3080a6017892e11396a1d076a83
Author(s)
Al-Midani, Omar M. (Omar Mouaffak), 1974-
Advisor(s)
Alan H. Epstein.
Date Issued
1998
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This thesis discusses the design of a microfabricated rocket engine. Micro-rockets feature a thrust to weight ratio up to two orders of magnitude greater than conventional rocket motors at small thrust levels and hence are very attractive for satellite propulsion applications and micro-satellite development. All major rocket components have been characterized and evaluated for micro-scale operation. These include a 300 atm pumping system, a 3000 K and 125 atm combustion chamber and a Mach 3.5 thrusting nozzle. Studies indicate that a turbopump system is feasible while further investigations on bearings are required to fully validate the concept. The viability of the combustion chamber is believed to be dependent on the mixing performance of an innovative injection scheme which features inter-digitated fuel/oxidizer jets impinging at a 180° angle. The nozzle is projected to perform satisfactorily, incurring a mere 2% loss in thrust according to 2D CFD calculations. Modeling of the system transients has indicated an acceleration time on the order of 0.1 sec. as well as notable sensitivities to the injector diameter and turbine blade turning angles. The analysis suggests that the micro-rocket engine concept is feasible and identifies the engineering challenges ahead.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1998.
"June 1998."
Includes bibliographical references (p. 135-137).
Subjects
Aeronautics and Astronautics
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Terms of Use
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
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