Hybrid Rocket Propulsion

Synopsis:

The “Hybrid Rocket Propulsion” short course is essential for all professionals specializing in chemical propulsion. The mechanisms associated with hybrid combustion and propulsion is diverse and affect our abilities to successfully advance and sustain the development of hybrid technology. It is our ultimate goal to promote the science of hybrid rocketry which is safe enough to be used in both academia and the private sector. A historical demonstration of hybrid rocket capability is the 2004 X-prize winner SpaceShipOne. This technology can also be used in outreach activities when used in conjunction with hands-on design projects and payload launches that involve student teams. Practically, interest in hybrid rocketry can thus be translated into increased awareness in science and technology, thus helping to alleviate the persistent attrition in our technical workforce. This course reviews the fundamentals of hybrid rocket propulsion with special emphasis on application-based design and system integration, propellant selection, flow field and regression rate modeling, solid fuel pyrolysis, scaling effects, transient behavior, and combustion instability. Advantages and disadvantages of both conventional and unconventional vortex hybrid configurations are examined and discussed.

Key Topics:

  • Introduction, Classification, Challenges, and Advantages of Hybrids
  • Similarity and Scaling Effects in Hybrid Rocket Motors
  • Flowfield Modeling of Classical and Non-Classical Hybrid Rockets
  • Solid Fuel Pyrolysis Phenomena and Regression Rate: Mechanisms & Measurement Techniques
  • Combustion Instability and Transient Behavior in Hybrid Rocket Motors
  • Metals, Other Energetic Additives, and Special Binders Used in Solid Fuels for Hybrid Rocket Applications

Who Should Attend:

This short-course is aimed at bringing together professionals with mutual interest in chemical combustion and propulsion, including modern techniques for measuring hybrid rocket performance, flame and flow field modeling, testing, and stability analysis. Our objective is to present and discuss fundamental theory alongside research findings with emphasis on unsolved problems, open questions, and benchmark tests. The course will provide a platform for learning and exchanging hybrid rocket experiences in the hope of stimulating further interactions and future collaborations.

Course Information:


Type of Course: Instructor-Led Short Course
Course Level: Fundamentals/Intermediate
Course Length: 2-3 days
AIAA CEU's available: Yes

Outline

  • Introduction, Classification, and Advantages of Hybrids

  • Similarity and Scale Effects in Hybrid Rocket Motors

  • Analytical Models for Hybrid Rockets

  • Vortex Injection Hybrid Rockets

  • High Speed Flow Effects in Hybrid Rockets

  • Review of Solid-Fuel Regression Rate Behavior in Classical and Non-Classical Hybrid Rocket Motors

  • Solid Fuel Pyrolysis Phenomena and Regression Rate: Mechanisms & Measurement Techniques

  • Metals, Other Energetic Additives, and Special Binders Used in Solid Fuels for Hybrid Rocket Applications

  • Combustion Instability and Transient Behavior in Hybrid Rocket Motors

  • Large-Scale Hybrid Motor Testing

  • N2O/HTPB Hybrid example

  • Flight Testing of Hybrid Powered Vehicles

  • Challenges of Hybrid Rocket Propulsion in the 21st Century


Materials


Instructors

Dr. Joseph Majdalani presently serves as Professor and Francis Chair of Aerospace Engineering at Auburn University. He previously served as the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council Endowed Professor and Department Chair of Aerospace Engineering at Auburn University (2013–2016) as well as the Jack D. Whitfield Professor and H. H. Arnold Chair of Excellence in Advanced Propulsion at the University of Tennessee (2003–2013).  Dr. Majdalani is known for his work on acoustic instability theory and vortex-driven rocket engine technology encompassing solid, liquid and hybrid rocket applications. He is presently a Fellow of ASME, Chair of the AIAA Hybrid Rockets Technical Committee (2015–2017), Chair of the Solid Rockets Technical Committee (2017–2019), Chair of the SRTC Awards Subcommittee, Director of Honors & Awards within the Greater Huntsville Section, Associate Editor of the International Journal of Energetic Materials and Chemical Propulsion, ISICP President Elect, and AIAA Short Course Instructor. 

Dr. Majdalani’s research devotes itself to the computational modeling and optimization of solid, liquid and hybrid rocket engines. His interests span rocket engine design and optimization, rocket internal ballistics, vorticity dynamics, computational mathematics, finite volume methods, and singular perturbation theory.  His research activities since 1997 have materialized in over 280 publications in first-rate journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings, mostly in the field of rocket propulsion.  His work on helical flow modeling has led to the discovery of new Trkalian and Beltramian families of solutions to describe cyclonic motions in self-cooled, multi-phase liquid and hybrid rocket engines.  These have paved the way to understand and optimize a family of cyclonically-driven hybrid and liquid rocket engines. His work on wave propagation has resulted in the development of a generalized-scaling technique in perturbation theory, and of a consistently compressible framework for capturing both vorticoacoustic and biglobal stability waves in simulated combustors.  These have led to a new framework for modeling combustion instability in rocket systems.  Recently, his work on compressible gas motions has required the inception of a systematic procedure for modeling high speed flow problems.  In fact, a total of eighteen dimensionless parameters have been newly identified in the course of his research investigations.  These parameters have played a key role in guiding experimental procedures and shaping research investigations that explore the technical benefits of swirl driven rocket engines, thus leading to a ground-up optimization framework that is presently being used by Sierra Nevada Corporation/ORBITEC.  This framework starts with CAD drawings, and iterates through a vorticoacoustic solver until a high performance and stable engine is achieved.

Throughout his career, Dr. Majdalani has received several professional awards such as:

 

 

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