Chemical Rockets

Presented by
Shakthivel. B
Final year Aeronautical engineering
Paavai engineering college

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1-Rocket principle
2-rocket propellant
3- type of rocket propellant
● solid propellant rocket
● liquid propellant rocket
●gas propellant rocket
● hybrid propellent rocket
3- Rocket fuel selection

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Rocket Principles
High pressure/temperature/velocity exhaust gases
provided through combustion and expansion through
nozzle of suitable fuel and oxidiser mixture.

A rocket carries both the fuel and oxidiser onboard

the vehicle whereas an air-breather engine takes in
its oxygen supply from the atmosphere.
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How Rocket Engines Operate
Rocket propulsion is based on Sir
Isaac Newton’s three laws of
motion. The third law is the
heart of rocketry because the
action of the rocket engine
produces the forward motion of
the rocket.
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Types of Rocket
Engines
Solid Propellant
• In a solid propellant rocket system the fuel and oxidizer are
mixed together from the start.
• The rocket case is the combustion chamber and holds the
propellants. There are no valves, pumps, or sensors.
Additives, if needed to increase temperature or to control
burning, are simply mixed with propellant grains.
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 SOLID ROCKETS AND NOZZLE FLOW
Special issue with solid propellants that use powdered metals as a fuel
additive

Adding aluminum to formation of solid propellant increases gas

temperature, but incurs performance penalties related to solid particles that
are generated
Aluminum burns with oxygen to form Al2O3 particles
Particles are initially liquid and solidify during expansion process
Also tend to agglomerate to become large particles
Large particles do not accelerate as quickly as the gas surrounding them
These particles may constitute as much as 10-25% of total mass
Need to consider this in nozzle design, which must account for two-phase
flow Simplified models exist for analysis of performance:
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Results indicate that large particle sizes are a detriment
However, for small particles, there is an optimum amount of Al to add

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Liquid propellant
rocket
Liquid Propellant Classifications
• Monopropellants
Contains its oxidizer and fuel in one solution.
May be a single chemical compound.
The compounds are stable at ordinary temperatures and
pressures, but break down when heated and pressurized, or
when the breaking down process is started by a catalyst.
Monopropellant rockets are simple since they need only
one propellant tank and associated equipment.

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Types of hybrid Rocket Engines
Hybrid Propellant
• Hybrid propellants combine in a single rocket
engine many of the advantages of both liquid and
solid propellant rockets.
• Flexibility gives the hybrid rocket its biggest
operational advantage. It can be throttled from zero
to full thrust and can be stopped and started in
flight.

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Solid Fuel, Liquid Oxidizer Example
ROCKET FUEL SELECTION GUIDE
Desirable Physical Properties
Low freezing point
High specific gravity (dense propellant)
Stability (with time)
Heat transfer properties
Pumping properties (low vapor pressure, low viscosity)
Small variation in physical characteristics with temperature
Ignition, combustion, and flame properties

Performance of Propellants
Economic Factors
Physical Hazards (Explosion, Fire, Spills)
Health Hazzards
Corrosion

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