Low-Thrust Solid Rocket Motors for Small, Fast Aircraft Propulsion: Design and Development
Name
2020-05-B38104.R3.pdf
Size
1.22 MB
Format
Unknown
Checksum (MD5)
4b89cd70c6dd4991fda645cc87b6c87e
Author(s)
Vernacchia, Matthew T.
Mathesius, Kelly J.
Hansman Jr, Robert J
Date Issued
September 2021
Journal
AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power
Publisher
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
Citation
Vernacchia, Matthew T., Mathesius, Kelly J. and Hansman, R. John. 2021. "Low-Thrust Solid Rocket Motors for Small, Fast Aircraft Propulsion: Design and Development." AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Small, low-thrust, long-burn-time solid propellant rocket motors could provide propulsion for a new class of kilogram-scale, transonic, uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). This paper investigates technological challenges of small, low-thrust solid rocket motors: slow-burn solid propellants, motors that have low thrust relative to their size (and thus have low chamber pressure), thermal protection for the motor case, and small nozzles that can withstand long burn times. Slow-burn propellants were developed using ammonium perchlorate and 0–20% oxamide (burn-rate suppressant), with burn rates of 1–4 mm⋅s−1 at 1 MPa. Using these propellants, a low-thrust motor successfully operated at a thrust/burn area ratio 10 times less than that of typical solid rocket motors. This kilogram-scale motor can provide 5–10 N of thrust for 1–3 min. An ablative thermal protection liner was tested in these firings, and a new ceramic-insulated nozzle was demonstrated. This paper shows that small, low-thrust solid motors are feasible and presents a baseline design for the integration of such a motor into a small UAV.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.2514/1.b38104
