• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• 제6권4호
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• pp.333-348
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• 2019

Low fuel regression rate is the main drawback of hybrid rocket which should be overcome. One of the improvement techniques to this problem is usage of a solid fuel grain with a complicated geometry port, which has been promoted owing to the recent development of additive manufacturing technologies. In the design of a hybrid rocket fuel grain with a complicated geometry port, the understanding of fuel regression behavior is very important. Numerical investigations of fuel regression behavior requires a capturing method of solid fuel surface, i.e. gas-solid interface. In this study, level set method is employed as such a method and the preliminary numerical tool for capturing a hybrid rocket solid fuel surface is developed. At first, to test the adequacy of the numerical modeling, the simulation results for circular port are compared to the experimental results in open literature. The regression rates and oxidizer to fuel ratios show good agreements between the simulations and the experiments, after passing enough time. However, during the early period of combustion, there are the discrepancies between the simulations and the experiments, owing to transient phenomena. Second, the simulations of complicated geometry ports are demonstrated. In this preliminary step, a star shape is employed as complicated geometry of port. The slot number effect in star port is investigated. The regression rate decreases with increasing the slot number, except for the star port with many slots (8 slots) in the latter half of combustion. The oxidizer to fuel ratio increases with increasing the slot number.

• 한국추진공학회지
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• 제19권3호
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• pp.20-28
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• 2015

본 논문에서는 다축의 핀틀 노즐을 장착한 고체 추진기관의 성능 변수를 이론적으로 분석하고 동적 모델링하였다. 이렇게 수립된 모델을 이용하여 시스템 동적 특성의 지배 변수를 파악하기 위하여 동적 분석을 수행하였다. 해당 시스템에 대한 모델을 수립하기 위해서는 기존의 연소 시스템에 대한 이론적인 모델과 함께 핀틀이 구동함에 따라 발생하는 동역학적 특성을 분석하여 모델에 포함시켜야 한다. 다축의 핀틀 노즐을 장착한 추진기관은 정상상태의 성능은 물론 정밀한 추력의 제어를 위해 응답시간과 같은 과도상태의 동적 특성 역시 중요한 설계 조건이 된다. 따라서 수립한 모델을 기반으로 개루프 시스템의 응답시간 특성을 분석하고, 압력 제어를 통해 응답시간에 대한 요구 조건을 만족할 수 있도록 하였다.

• 한국추진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국추진공학회 2011년도 제37회 추계학술대회논문집
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• pp.45-49
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• 2011

자발가압 특성이 있는 $N_2O$를 적용한 Blow-down 산화제 공급방식은 조절 시스템(Regulated system)에 비해 많은 장점을 가지고 있다. 그러나 탱크 내에 $N_2O$가 액체와 기체의 2상으로 공존하고, 유동이 배출되는 동안 탱크 안의 $N_2O$의 물성치가 계속적으로 달라지기 때문에 배출 유량을 예측하는데 어려움이 있다. 본 논문에서는 $N_2O$를 적용한 Blow-down 산화제 공급방식을 간단하게 해석 할 수 있는 방법을 연구했다. 포화상태 $N_2O$의 물성치는 NIST 데이터베이스를 이용했으며, 인젝터 모델로 nonhomogeneous nonequilibrium(NHNE) 모델을 적용하였다. 하이브리드 로켓 연소기를 이용해 cold flow test를 수행하였으며, 두 결과가 잘 일치함을 확인했다.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.512-521
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• 2017

This paper reports development process of a university-based sounding rocket using simplified hybrid rocket propulsion system for low-altitude flight application. A hybrid propulsion system was tried to be designed with as few components as possible for more economical, simpler and safer propulsion system, which is essential for the small scale sounding rocket operation as a CanSat carrier. Using blow-down feeding system and catalytic ignition as combustion starter, 250 N class hybrid rocket system was composed of three components: a composite tank, valves, and a thruster. With a composite tank filled with both hydrogen peroxide($H_2O_2$) as an oxidizer and nitrogen gas($N_2$) as a pressurant, the feeding pressure was operated in blowdown mode during thruster operation. The $MnO_2/Al_2O_3$ catalyst was fabricated for propellant decomposition, and ground test of propulsion system showed the almost theoretical temperature of decomposed $H_2O_2$ at the catalyst reactor, indicating sufficient catalyst efficiency for propellant decomposition. Auto-ignition of the high density polyethylene(HDPE) fuel grain successfully occurred by the decomposed $H_2O_2$ product without additional installation of any ignition devices. Performance test result was well matched with numerical internal ballistics conducted prior to the experimental propulsion system ground test. A sounding rocket using the developed hybrid rocket was designed, fabricated, flight simulated and launch tested. Six degree-of-freedom trajectory estimation code was developed and the comparison result between expected and experimental trajectory validated the accuracy of the developed trajectory estimation code. The fabricated sounding rocket was successfully launched showing the effectiveness of the simplified hybrid rocket propulsion system.

• 한국추진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국추진공학회 2008년 영문 학술대회
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• pp.293-300
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• 2008

Efficient designing of SRM Grains in the field of Rocketry is still the main test for most of the nations of world for scientific studies, commercial and military applications. There is a strong need to enhance thrust, improve the effectiveness of SRM and reduce mass of motor and burning time so as to allow the general design to increase the weight of payload/on board electronics. Moreover burning time can be increased while keeping the weight of the propellant and thrust in desired range, so as to give the time to control / general design group in active phase for incorporating delayed cut off if required. A mathematical design, optimization & analysis technique for Slotted Tube Grain has been discussed in this paper. In order to avoid the uncertainties that whether the Slotted Tube grain configuration being designed is best suited for achieving the set design goals and optimal of all the available designs or not, an efficient technique for designing SRM Grain and then getting optimal solution is must. The research work proposed herein addresses and emphasizes a design methodology to design and optimize Slotted Tube Grain considering particular test cases for which the design objectives and constraints have been given. In depth study of the optimized solution have been conducted thereby affects of all the independent parametric design variables on optimal solution & design objectives have been examined and analyzed in detail. In doing so, the design objectives and constraints have been set, geometric parameters of slotted tube grain have been identified, performance prediction parameters have been calculated, thereafter preliminary designs completed and finally optimal design reached. A Software has been developed in MATLAB for designing and optimization of Slotted Tube grains.

• 한국추진공학회지
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• 제26권4호
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• pp.21-27
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• 2022

본 논문에서는 금속선이 삽입된 열가소성 고체 추진제의 연소특성을 모터의 지상연소시험을 수행하여 분석하였다. 추진제 그레인은 연소면적 증가를 위한 금속선으로 알루미늄과 구리로 적용하여 열가소성 추진제로 제작하였으며, 더 나은 점화를 위하여 Cone형상으로 설계하였다. 이들 금속들은 열확산 계수 성질에 따른 연소속도 향상효과를 확인하기 위하여 사용되었다. 내탄도 분석과 지상연소시험은 각 금속선에 따른 연소속도 효과를 조사하기 위하여 수행되었고, 잘 제작된 추진제 그레인으로 각 금속선들의 열확산 계수의 차이에 따른 추진제의 연소속도 결과들을 얻었다.

• 한국추진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국추진공학회 2011년도 제36회 춘계학술대회논문집
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• pp.1-2
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• 2011

Hybrid rockets have lately attracted attention as a strong candidate of small, low cost, safe and reliable launch vehicles. A significant topic is that the first commercially sponsored space ship, SpaceShipOne vehicle chose a hybrid rocket. The main factors for the choice were safety of operation, system cost, quick turnaround, and thrust termination. In Japan, five universities including Hokkaido University and three private companies organized "Hybrid Rocket Research Group" from 1998 to 2002. Their main purpose was to downsize the cost and scale of rocket experiments. In 2002, UNISEC (University Space Engineering Consortium) and HASTIC (Hokkaido Aerospace Science and Technology Incubation Center) took over the educational and R&D rocket activities respectively and the research group dissolved. In 2008, JAXA/ISAS and eleven universities formed "Hybrid Rocket Research Working Group" as a subcommittee of the Steering Committee for Space Engineering in ISAS. Their goal is to demonstrate technical feasibility of lowcost and high frequency launches of nano/micro satellites into sun-synchronous orbits. Hybrid rockets use a combination of solid and liquid propellants. Usually the fuel is in a solid phase. A serious problem of hybrid rockets is the low regression rate of the solid fuel. In single port hybrids the low regression rate below 1 mm/s causes large L/D exceeding a hundred and small fuel loading ratio falling below 0.3. Multi-port hybrids are a typical solution to solve this problem. However, this solution is not the mainstream in Japan. Another approach is to use high regression rate fuels. For example, a fuel regression rate of 4 mm/s decreases L/D to around 10 and increases the loading ratio to around 0.75. Liquefying fuels such as paraffins are strong candidates for high regression fuels and subject of active research in Japan too. Nakagawa et al. in Tokai University employed EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) to modify viscosity of paraffin based fuels and investigated the effect of viscosity on regression rates. Wada et al. in Akita University employed LTP (Low melting ThermoPlastic) as another candidate of liquefying fuels and demonstrated high regression rates comparable to paraffin fuels. Hori et al. in JAXA/ISAS employed glycidylazide-poly(ethylene glycol) (GAP-PEG) copolymers as high regression rate fuels and modified the combustion characteristics by changing the PEG mixing ratio. Regression rate improvement by changing internal ballistics is another stream of research. The author proposed a new fuel configuration named "CAMUI" in 1998. CAMUI comes from an abbreviation of "cascaded multistage impinging-jet" meaning the distinctive flow field. A CAMUI type fuel grain consists of several cylindrical fuel blocks with two ports in axial direction. The port alignment shifts 90 degrees with each other to make jets out of ports impinge on the upstream end face of the downstream fuel block, resulting in intense heat transfer to the fuel. Yuasa et al. in Tokyo Metropolitan University employed swirling injection method and improved regression rates more than three times higher. However, regression rate distribution along the axis is not uniform due to the decay of the swirl strength. Aso et al. in Kyushu University employed multi-swirl injection to solve this problem. Combinations of swirling injection and paraffin based fuel have been tried and some results show very high regression rates exceeding ten times of conventional one. High fuel regression rates by new fuel, new internal ballistics, or combination of them require faster fuel-oxidizer mixing to maintain combustion efficiency. Nakagawa et al. succeeded to improve combustion efficiency of a paraffin-based fuel from 77% to 96% by a baffle plate. Another effective approach some researchers are trying is to use an aft-chamber to increase residence time. Better understanding of the new flow fields is necessary to reveal basic mechanisms of regression enhancement. Yuasa et al. visualized the combustion field in a swirling injection type motor. Nakagawa et al. observed boundary layer combustion of wax-based fuels. To understand detailed flow structures in swirling flow type hybrids, Sawada et al. (Tohoku Univ.), Teramoto et al. (Univ. of Tokyo), Shimada et al. (ISAS), and Tsuboi et al. (Kyushu Inst. Tech.) are trying to simulate the flow field numerically. Main challenges are turbulent reaction, stiffness due to low Mach number flow, fuel regression model, and other non-steady phenomena. Oshima et al. in Hokkaido University simulated CAMUI type flow fields and discussed correspondence relation between regression distribution of a burning surface and the vortex structure over the surface.