Theoretical and Experimental Study on a Spin-Stabilized Spherical Rocket

Spin 안정형 구형 로켓트에 관한 이론 및 실험적 연구

The combustion chamber and nozzle of an end burning, small spherical rocket is designed. A spherical external shape has a number of advantages such as fixed center-of-gravity and minimum aerodynamic precession torques during flight and a better mass distribution for gyro-stabilization as contrasted to a conventional ogive rocket shape. It is shown that the cross-sectional variation of the end burning solid propellant with length is an exponential geometry to provide a constant thrust-weight ratio of the rocket device during the propellant burning period, and that the factors which affect the attainment of the constant relationship of thrust to weight in the design are the initial propellant area, initial weight of the rocket and propellant density. The measurement of the transient thrust in the ground static test using black powder propellant supports the predicted results. A wind tunnel having a $30{\times}30{\times}75cm$ test section and Mach number 0.11 is constructed, and a simple balance-type device is designed for the measurement of the drag of a spinning sphere. The experimental results indicate that the. spinning has no effect on the magnitude of the drag up to the Reynolds number $3{\times}10^5$. Numerical computation of the flight trajectories for various launching angles is presented, and the gyro-stabilization of spinning sphere is discussed.