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Mechanical Engineering Commons

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Masters Theses

Aerospace Engineering

2016

Propulsion

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

Development, Analysis, And Optimization Of A Swirl-Promoting Mean Flow Solution For Solid Rocket Motors, Andrew Steven Fist Dec 2016

Development, Analysis, And Optimization Of A Swirl-Promoting Mean Flow Solution For Solid Rocket Motors, Andrew Steven Fist

Masters Theses

This work demonstrates and analyses a new flow candidate for describing the internal gaseous motion in simulated rocket motors. The fundamental features of this solution include the conservation of key system properties also incorporated in the classic Taylor-Culick (TC) system (i.e. inviscid, axisymmetric, steady and rotational properties), while allowing for the development of a swirling velocity component. The work compares the new solution to the development and formulation of the classic TC system, ultimately identifying that both the new and classic solutions are special cases of the Bragg-Hawthorne equation. Following this development, the text then explores the development of energy-optimized …


The Decomposition Of Hydroxylammonium Nitrate Under Vacuum Conditions, Gregory A. Neff Apr 2016

The Decomposition Of Hydroxylammonium Nitrate Under Vacuum Conditions, Gregory A. Neff

Masters Theses

This research investigates the decomposition of the ionic liquid: hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN), under vacuum conditions. All research was conducted at the Aerospace Laboratory for Plasma Experiments (ALPE) at Western Michigan University. Hydroxylammonium nitrate solution 24% wt. in H2O was used consistently throughout this research. A variety of temperatures and pressures ranging from 23°C to 645°C and 6E-3 Torr to 4 Torr, respectively, were used to decompose HAN. The primary gaseous species resulting from these decomposition conditions are N2O, NO, and trace amounts of NO2. The formation of H2O, and N2 is conditional on the experimental conditions, and the formation of …