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http://dx.doi.org/10.5139/JKSAS.2022.50.5.325

Hybrid Rocket Thrust Control in an Environment With Decreasing Oxidizer Supply Pressure  

Chae, Donghoon (Department of Aerospace Engineering, Konkuk University)
Chae, Heesang (Space Pioneer Program Office, Korea Aerospace Research Institute)
Lee, Changjin (Department of Aerospace Engineering, Konkuk University)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences / v.50, no.5, 2022 , pp. 325-332 More about this Journal
Abstract
The vertical take-off and vertical landing (VTVL) function is essential to carry out exploration missions on the moon or Mars. For this, the engine of the exploration vehicle must have appropriate thrust control accuracy and response time. The hybrid rocket engine (HRE) is known to have a high level of thrust control capability that can satisfy these conditions. This study aims to first verify whether the thrust control performance of the developed HRE is suitable for VTVL. To this end, an oxidizer supply system that does not use a pressurization device was adopted, aiming for a mission time of about 10 seconds. In this study, the thrust control characteristics appearing under various supply pressure decreasing conditions were identified through experiments. Appropriate tank and charging conditions were set from the experimental results. In addition, the results of previous studies and current study's test were compared to confirm whether the developed HRE had adequate control performance for VTVL, and finally, the thrust control performance was verified through altitude control simulation.
Keywords
Hybrid Rocket Engine; Thrust Control; Vertical Take-off and Vertical Landing; Decreasing Supply Pressure;
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