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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Oxider To Fuel Ratio Shift Compensation Via Vortex Strength Control In Hybrid Rocket Motors, Max W. Francom
Oxider To Fuel Ratio Shift Compensation Via Vortex Strength Control In Hybrid Rocket Motors, Max W. Francom
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present
Hybrid motors have existed as a hypothetical propulsion system for decades in a wide range of upper stage rocket motors due to their simple, robust, non-toxic, and versatile nature. However, inherent to hybrids is Oxidizer to Fuel ratio (O/F) shift over time, which results in performance losses for the majority of the rocket’s lifetime. The purpose of this study is to develop a hybrid rocket motor capable of manipulating O/F at will, resulting in an engine which eliminates the undesirable effects of O/F shift. By developing and refining a numerical simulation, a novel injector system, and an open-loop control scheme, …
Development Of A Potassium Permanganate Catalyst-Infused Fuel Grain For Hydrogen Peroxide Hybrid Thruster Ignition Enhancement, Ryan J. Thibaudeau
Development Of A Potassium Permanganate Catalyst-Infused Fuel Grain For Hydrogen Peroxide Hybrid Thruster Ignition Enhancement, Ryan J. Thibaudeau
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present
This thesis describes and addresses the need for reliable ignition in small satellite hybrid propulsion systems using hydrogen peroxide. It describes process of creating custom 3D printed ABS plastic fuel grains with small amounts of catalysts. These catalysts lead to a more reliable and energy-efficient ignition of a hybrid rocked propulsion system using catalyst-infused ABS and high-test hydrogen peroxide (HTP). Hydrogen peroxide is a high-density oxidizer and therefore more volumetrically efficient for a small satellite using hybrid rocket technology when compared to gaseous oxygen (GOX). The traditional ignition methods of hybrid rocket propulsion systems using HTP are compared to and …
Low-Erosion Nozzle Materials For Long-Duration Hybrid Rocket Burns, Russell S. Babb
Low-Erosion Nozzle Materials For Long-Duration Hybrid Rocket Burns, Russell S. Babb
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Hybrid rocket systems, which employ a solid fuel grain and a liquid oxidizer, are a low-cost and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional rocket systems. However, hybrid rockets suffer from an increased nozzle throat erosion rate, which impacts motor performance and reliability. To address this issue several materials and low-erosion nozzle configurations were tested. The results of the testing campaign produced a nozzle that reduce the throat erosion rate five-fold.
Experimental Investigation Of N2o/O2 Mixtures As Volumetrically Efficient Oxidizers For Small Spacecraft Hybrid Propulsion Systems, Rob L. Stoddard
Experimental Investigation Of N2o/O2 Mixtures As Volumetrically Efficient Oxidizers For Small Spacecraft Hybrid Propulsion Systems, Rob L. Stoddard
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
A hybrid thruster system utilizes propellants in two different stages, traditionally a solid fuel and a gaseous or liquid oxidizer. Recently hybrid thrusters have become a popular topic of research due to the high demand of a ”green” replacement for hydrazine. Not only are hybrid thruster systems typically much safer than hydrazine, but they are also a low-cost system with a high reliability in performance. The Propulsion Research Laboratory (PRL) at Utah State University (USU) has developed a hybrid thruster system using 3-D printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) as the fuel and gaseous oxygen (GOX) as the oxidizer. This system …
Control And Stability Of Upper Stage Launch Vehicle With Hybrid Arc-Ignition Attitude Control System, Steven Russell Bennett
Control And Stability Of Upper Stage Launch Vehicle With Hybrid Arc-Ignition Attitude Control System, Steven Russell Bennett
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
The Utah State University Propulsion Research Laboratory (USUPRL) has recently made significant developments in the area of hybrid rocket systems. This type of propulsion system incorporates a solid fuel and a gas or liquid oxidizer. Hybrid rocket systems are known for their inherent safety, reliability, and restart capability. Over the last several years, the USUPRL has successfully built and tested a hybrid rocket system comprising acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic and gaseous oxygen (GOX). The system was demonstrated to be fully functional during ground, vacuum, and sub-orbital flight testing. Continuing forward, the USUPRL endeavors to extend the capabilities of this …
Throttleable Gox/Abs Launch Assist Hybrid Rocket Motor For Small Scale Air Launch Platform, Zachary S. Spurrier
Throttleable Gox/Abs Launch Assist Hybrid Rocket Motor For Small Scale Air Launch Platform, Zachary S. Spurrier
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
The ability for an aircraft-based launch platform to place an orbital payload onto a nominal launch trajectory at a higher energy state -- altitude, velocity, flight path angle, and azimuth --using highly-efficient air breathing propulsion instead of a much lower-efficiency rocket system, offers the potential for a significantly smaller launch vehicle. An airborne platform also provides the ability to launch from multiple locations and allows for significantly increased "system responsiveness." The NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s Towed Glider Air-Launch System (TGALS) is a small-scale flight research project investigating the feasibility for a remotely-piloted, towed, glider system to act as a …
High Regression Rate Hybrid Rocket Fuel Grains With Helical Port Structures, Sean D. Walker
High Regression Rate Hybrid Rocket Fuel Grains With Helical Port Structures, Sean D. Walker
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Hybrid Rockets are popular in the aerospace industry due to their storage safety, simplicity, and controllability during rocket motor burn. However, they produce fuel regression rates typically 25% lower than solid fuel motors of the same thrust level. These lowered regression rates produce unacceptably high oxidizer-to-fuel (O/F) ratios that produce a potential for motor instability, nozzle erosion, and reduced motor duty cycles. To achieve O/F ratios that produce acceptable combustion charactersitics, traditional cylindrical fuel ports are fabricated with very long length-to-diameter ratios to increase the total burning area. these high aspect ratios produce further reduced fuel regression rate and trust …
Development Of The Multiple Use Plug Hybrid For Nanosats (Muphyn) Miniature Thruster, Shannon Dean Eilers
Development Of The Multiple Use Plug Hybrid For Nanosats (Muphyn) Miniature Thruster, Shannon Dean Eilers
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
The Multiple Use Plug Hybrid for Nanosats (MUPHyN) prototype thruster incorporates solutions to several major challenges that have traditionally limited the deployment of chemical propulsion systems on small spacecraft. The MUPHyN thruster offers several features that are uniquely suited for small satellite applications. These features include 1) a non-explosive ignition system, 2) non-mechanical thrust vectoring using secondary fluid injection on an aerospike nozzle cooled with the oxidizer flow, 3) a non-toxic, chemically-stable combination of liquid and inert solid propellants, 4) a compact form factor enabled by the direct digital manufacture of the inert solid fuel grain. Hybrid rocket motors provide …
Design And Testing Of Digitally Manufactured Paraffin Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene Hybrid Rocket Motors, Jonathan M. Mcculley
Design And Testing Of Digitally Manufactured Paraffin Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene Hybrid Rocket Motors, Jonathan M. Mcculley
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Hybrid motors that employ non-toxic, non-explosive components with a liquid oxidizer and a solid hydrocarbon fuel grain have inherently safe operating characteristics. The oxidizer is blown though the solid fuel where it is combusted through a nozzle to produce thrust. This research investigated the combination of Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene impregnated with paraffin wax as the solid fuel component burned with nitrous oxide. The paraffin provides an enhanced regression rate over ABS; however, it lacks structural integrity and combustion efficiency. Multiple fuel grains with various ABS-to-Paraffin mass ratios were fabricated and burned with nitrous oxide. Analytical predictions for end-to-end motor performance and fuel …
Power Efficient Restart-Capable Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene-Based Arc Ignition For Hybrid Rocket Motors, Nathan R. Inkley
Power Efficient Restart-Capable Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene-Based Arc Ignition For Hybrid Rocket Motors, Nathan R. Inkley
All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023
Hybrid rocket ignition has historically involved either dangerous energetic materials or inefficient and failure-prone plasma sources. The vast majority of such systems cannot sup- port multiple restart cycles, thus limiting the applicability of hybrid rockets–especially for in-space propulsion. During research investigating its use as a fuel for hybrid rockets, it was discovered that Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic possesses unique electrical breakdown characteristics. During a properly designed breakdown event, application of a strong electric field induces a high-temperature arc along the surface of the ABS, concurrent with rapid production of hydrocarbon vapor. This behavior forms the basis of a novel …
Performance Characterization Of Complex Fuel Port Geometries For Hybrid Rocket Fuel Grains, Andrew Bath
Performance Characterization Of Complex Fuel Port Geometries For Hybrid Rocket Fuel Grains, Andrew Bath
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Extensive research in hybrid rocket motors has taken place at the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at USU (Utah State University) in the last several years. USU has one of the few facilities in the country capable of static-test firing rocket motors on-campus, which allows for fast-paced testing and development not available elsewhere. Research has involved investigating propulsion devices for a range of applications, including micro-satellite thrusters, hot-gas generators, and even jet-assisted takeoff kick motors. Hybrid motors have the advantage of safety over any other chemical propulsion. Since the fuel and oxidizer are stored seperately, they are relatively inert …
Closed-Loop Thrust And Pressure Profile Throttling Of A Nitrous Oxide/Hydroxyl-Terminated Polybutadiene Hybrid Rocket Motor, Zachary W. Peterson
Closed-Loop Thrust And Pressure Profile Throttling Of A Nitrous Oxide/Hydroxyl-Terminated Polybutadiene Hybrid Rocket Motor, Zachary W. Peterson
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Hybrid motors that employ non-toxic, non-explosive components with a liquid oxidizer and a solid hydrocarbon fuel grain have inherently safe operating characteristics. The inherent safety of hybrid rocket motors offers the potential to greatly reduce overall operating costs. Another key advantage of hybrid rocket motors is the potential for in-flight shutdown, restart, and throttle by controlling the pressure drop between the oxidizer tank and the injector. This research designed, developed, and ground tested a closed-loop throttle controller for a hybrid rocket motor using nitrous oxide and hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene as propellants. The research simultaneously developed closed-loop throttle algorithms and lab scale …
Changes In Hybrid Poplar Endophytic Microbial Diversity In Response To Trichloroethylene Exposure, Jared S. Ervin
Changes In Hybrid Poplar Endophytic Microbial Diversity In Response To Trichloroethylene Exposure, Jared S. Ervin
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Remediation of trichloroethylene (TCE) is a major priority for many contaminated sites all over the industrialized world including Hill Air Force Base, UT (HAFB). Phytoremediation as part of a cleanup strategy is an appealing option, and trees at HAFB have been studied to this end. Trees have also been used to delineate groundwater plumes because the passive uptake of organic contaminants by trees generally results in a direct relationship between tree and groundwater TCE concentrations if the trees are using the contaminated groundwater. However, the concentrations of plant-produced TCE metabolites can vary greatly. It was hypothesized that the endophytic microbial …
Interactive Hybrid Computer Program As An Aid For Teaching Hydrology, Arif Hikmet Atali
Interactive Hybrid Computer Program As An Aid For Teaching Hydrology, Arif Hikmet Atali
All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023
The science of water resource planning and management implies the utilization of available water supplies in order to meet specific goals and objectives (Hill and Riley, 1972). Essential to effective planning and management is the consideration and analysis of all possible alternatives. Past research at Utah State University has demonstrated that the hybrid computer simulation of hydrologic processes is a reliable planning technique which provides the capability to examine many possible alternatives in a short period of time (Hill et al., 1970; Riley, 1970; and Riley et al., 1967). This technique, because of its interactive characteristics, is valuable also in …