12/29/21, 4:27 PM Basics of Space Flight: Rocket Propulsion

ROCKET
PROPULSION
Thrust
Conservation of Momentum
Impulse & Momentum
Combustion & Exhaust Velocity
Specific Impulse
Rocket Engines
Power Cycles
Engine Cooling
Solid Rocket Motors
Monopropellant Engines
Staging

Isaac Newton stated in his third law of motion that "for every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction." It is upon this principle that a rocket operates. Propellants are combined in a combustion
chamber where they chemically react to form hot gases which are then accelerated and ejected at
high velocity through a nozzle, thereby imparting momentum to the engine. The thrust force of a
rocket motor is the reaction experienced by the motor structure due to ejection of the high velocity
matter. This is the same phenomenon which pushes a garden hose backward as water flows from the
nozzle, or makes a gun recoil when fired.

Thrust
Thrust is the force that propels a rocket or spacecraft and is
measured in pounds, kilograms or Newtons. Physically
speaking, it is the result of pressure which is exerted on the
wall of the combustion chamber.

Figure 1.1 shows a combustion chamber with an opening, the

nozzle, through which gas can escape. The pressure
distribution within the chamber is asymmetric; that is, inside
the chamber the pressure varies little, but near the nozzle it
decreases somewhat. The force due to gas pressure on the
bottom of the chamber is not compensated for from the
outside. The resultant force F due to the internal and external
pressure difference, the thrust, is opposite to the direction of
the gas jet. It pushes the chamber upwards.

To create high speed exhaust gases, the necessary high

temperatures and pressures of combustion are obtained by
using a very energetic fuel and by having the molecular
weight of the exhaust gases as low as possible. It is also
necessary to reduce the pressure of the gas as much as
possible inside the nozzle by creating a large section ratio.
The section ratio, or expansion ratio, is defined as the area of
the exit Ae divided by the area of the throat At.

The thrust F is the resultant of the forces due to the

pressures exerted on the inner and outer walls by the combustion gases and the surrounding
atmosphere, taking the boundary between the inner and outer surfaces as the cross section of the exit
of the nozzle. As we shall see in the next section, applying the principle of the conservation of
momentum gives

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where q is the rate of the ejected mass flow, Pa the pressure of the ambient atmosphere, Pe the
pressure of the exhaust gases and Ve their ejection speed. Thrust is specified either at sea level or in a
vacuum.

Conservation of Momentum
The linear momentum (p), or simply momentum, of a particle is the product of its mass and its
velocity. That is,

Newton expressed his second law of motion in terms of momentum, which can be stated as "the
resultant of the forces acting on a particle is equal to the rate of change of the linear momentum of
the particle". In symbolic form this becomes

which is equivalent to the expression F=ma.

If we have a system of particles, the total momentum P of the system is the sum of the momenta of
the individual particles. When the resultant external force acting on a system is zero, the total linear
momentum of the system remains constant. This is called the principle of conservation of linear
momentum. Let's now see how this principle is applied to rocket mechanics.

Consider a rocket drifting in gravity free space. The rocket's engine is fired for time t and, during this
period, ejects gases at a constant rate and at a constant speed relative to the rocket (exhaust
velocity). Assume there are no external forces, such as gravity or air resistance.

Figure 1.2(a) shows the situation at time t. The rocket and fuel have a total mass M and the
combination is moving with velocity v as seen from a particular frame of reference. At a time t later
the configuration has changed to that shown in Figure 1.2(b). A mass M has been ejected from the
rocket and is moving with velocity u as seen by the observer. The rocket is reduced to mass M- M and
the velocity v of the rocket is changed to v+ v.

Because there are no external forces, dP/dt=0. We can write, for the time interval t

where P2 is the final system momentum, Figure 1.2(b), and P1 is the initial system momentum, Figure
1.2(a). We write

If we let t approach zero, v/ t approaches dv/dt, the acceleration of the body. The quantity M is
the mass ejected in t; this leads to a decrease in the mass M of the original body. Since dM/dt, the
change in mass of the body with time, is negative in this case, in the limit the quantity M/ t is
replaced by -dM/dt. The quantity u-(v+ v) is Vrel, the relative velocity of the ejected mass with
respect to the rocket. With these changes, equation (1.4) can be written as

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The right-hand term depends on the characteristics of the rocket and, like the left-hand term, has the
dimensions of a force. This force is called the thrust, and is the reaction force exerted on the rocket by
the mass that leaves it. The rocket designer can make the thrust as large as possible by designing the
rocket to eject mass as rapidly as possible (dM/dt large) and with the highest possible relative speed
(Vrel large).

In rocketry, the basic thrust equation is written as

where q is the rate of the ejected mass flow, Ve is the exhaust gas ejection speed, Pe is the pressure
of the exhaust gases at the nozzle exit, Pa is the pressure of the ambient atmosphere, and Ae is the
area of the nozzle exit. The product qVe, which we derived above (Vrel × dM/dt), is called the
momentum, or velocity, thrust. The product (Pe-Pa)Ae, called the pressure thrust, is the result of
unbalanced pressure forces at the nozzle exit. As we shall see latter, maximum thrust occurs when
Pe=Pa.

Click here for example problem #1.1

(use your browser's "back" function to return)

Equation (1.6) may be simplified by the definition of an effective exhaust gas velocity, C, defined as

Equation (1.6) then reduces to

Impulse & Momentum

In the preceding section we saw that Newton's second law may be expressed in the form

Multiplying both sides by dt and integrating from a time t1 to a time t2, we write

The integral is a vector known as the linear impulse, or simply the impulse, of the force F during the
time interval considered. The equation expresses that, when a particle is acted upon by a force F
during a given time interval, the final momentum p2 of the particle may be obtained by adding its
initial momentum p1 and the impulse of the force F during the interval of time.

When several forces act on a particle, the impulse of each of the forces must be considered. When a
problem involves a system of particles, we may add vectorially the momenta of all the particles and
the impulses of all the forces involved. When can then write

For a time interval t, we may write equation (1.10) in the form

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Let us now see how we can apply the principle of impulse and momentum to rocket mechanics.

Consider a rocket of initial mass M which it launched vertically at time t=0. The fuel is consumed at a
constant rate q and is expelled at a constant speed Ve relative to the rocket. At time t, the mass of the
rocket shell and remaining fuel is M-qt, and the velocity is v. During the time interval t, a mass of
fuel q t is expelled. Denoting by u the absolute velocity of the expelled fuel, we apply the principle of
impulse and momentum between time t and time t+ t. Please note, this derivation neglects the effect
of air resistance.

We write

We divide through by t and replace u-(v+ v) with Ve, the velocity of the expelled mass relative to
the rocket. As t approaches zero, we obtain

Separating variables and integrating from t=0, v=0 to t=t, v=v, we obtain

which equals

The term -gt in equation (1.15) is the result of Earth's gravity pulling on the rocket. For a rocket
drifting in space, -gt is not applicable and can be omitted. Furthermore, it is more appropriate to
express the resulting velocity as a change in velocity, or V. Equation (1.15) thus becomes

Click here for example problem #1.2

Note that M represents the initial mass of the rocket and M-qt the final mass. Therefore, equation
(1.16) is often written as

where mo/mf is called the mass ratio. Equation (1.17) is also known as Tsiolkovsky's rocket equation,
named after Russian rocket pioneer Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) who first derived it.

In practical application, the variable Ve is usually replaced by the effective exhaust gas velocity, C.
Equation (1.17) therefore becomes

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Alternatively, we can write

where e is a mathematical constant approximately equal to 2.71828.

Click here for example problem #1.3

For many spacecraft maneuvers it is necessary to calculate the duration of an engine burn required to
achieve a specific change in velocity. Rearranging variables, we have

Click here for example problem #1.4

Combustion & Exhaust Velocity

The combustion process involves the oxidation of constituents in the fuel that are capable of being
oxidized, and can therefore be represented by a chemical equation. During a combustion process the
mass of each element remains the same. Consider the reaction of methane with oxygen

This equation states that one mole of methane reacts with two moles of oxygen to form one mole of
carbon dioxide and two moles of water. This also means that 16 g of methane react with 64 g of
oxygen to form 44 g of carbon dioxide and 36 g of water. All the initial substances that undergo the
combustion process are called the reactants, and the substances that result from the combustion
process are called the products.

The above combustion reaction is an example of a stoichiometric mixture, that is, there is just enough
oxygen present to chemically react with all the fuel. The highest flame temperature is achieved under
these conditions, however it is often desirable to operate a rocket engine at a "fuel-rich" mixture ratio.
Mixture ratio is defined as the mass flow of oxidizer divided by the mass flow of fuel.

Consider the following reaction of kerosene(1) with oxygen,

Given the molecular weight of C12H26 is 170 and that of O2 is 32, we have a mixture ratio of

which is typical of many rocket engines using kerosene, or RP-1, fuel.

The optimum mixture ratio is typically that which will deliver the highest engine performance
(measured by specific impulse), however in some situations a different O/F ratio results in a better
overall system. For a volume-constrained vehicle with a low-density fuel such as liquid hydrogen,
significant reductions in vehicle size can be achieved by shifting to a higher O/F ratio. In that case, the
losses in performance are more than compensated for by the reduced fuel tankage requirement. Also
consider the example of bipropellant systems using NTO/MMH, where a mixture ratio of 1.67 results in
fuel and oxidizer tanks of equal size. Equal sizing simplifies tank manufacturing, system packaging,
and integration.

As we have seen previously, impulse thrust is equal to the product of the propellant mass flow rate
and the exhaust gas ejection speed. The ideal exhaust velocity is given by

where k is the specific heat ratio, R* is the universal gas constant (8,314.4621 J/kmol-K in SI units, or
49,720 ft-lb/(slug-mol)-oR in U.S. units), Tc is the combustion temperature, M is the average

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molecular weight of the exhaust gases, Pc is the combustion chamber pressure, and Pe is the pressure
at the nozzle exit.

Specific heat ratio(2) varies depending on the composition and temperature of the exhaust gases, but
it is usually about 1.2. The thermodynamics involved in calculating combustion temperatures are quite
complicated, however, flame temperatures generally range from about 2,500 to 3,600 oC (4,500-6,500
oF). Chamber pressures can range from about about 7 to 250 atmospheres. P should be equal to the
e
ambient pressure at which the engine will operate, more on this later.

From equation (1.22) we see that high chamber temperature and pressure, and low exhaust gas
molecular weight results in high ejection velocity, thus high thrust. Based on this criterion, we can see
why liquid hydrogen is very desirable as a rocket fuel.

Click here for example problem #1.5

It should be pointed out that in the combustion process there will be a dissociation of molecules
among the products. That is, the high heat of combustion causes the separation of molecules into
simpler constituents that are then capable of recombining. Consider the reaction of kerosene with
oxygen. The true products of combustion will be an equilibrium mixture of atoms and molecules
consisting of C, CO, CO2, H, H2, H2O, HO, O, and O2. Dissociation has a significant effect on flame
temperature.

If you wish to learn more about the thermodynamics of rockets engines, please consider reading the
appendix Rocket Thermodynamics.

Or you can skip all the science and just look up the numbers you need. See Propellant Combustion
Charts to find optimum mixture ratio, adiabatic flame temperature, gas molecular weight, and specific
heat ratio for some common rocket propellants.

(1) In dealing with combustion of liquid hydrocarbon fuels it is convenient to express the
composition in terms of a single hydrocarbon, even though it is a mixture of many
hydrocarbons. Thus gasoline is usually considered to be octane, C8H18, and kerosene is
considered to be dodecane, C12H26.

(2) Specific heat, or heat capacity, represents the amount of heat necessary to raise the
temperature of one gram of a substance one degree C. Specific heat is measured at constant-
pressure, CP, or at constant-volume, CV. The ratio CP/CV is called the specific heat ratio,
represented by k or .

Specific Impulse
The specific impulse of a rocket, Isp, is the ratio of the thrust to the flow rate of the weight ejected,
that is

where F is thrust, q is the rate of mass flow, and go is standard gravity (9.80665 m/s2).

Specific impulse is expressed in seconds. When the thrust and the flow rate remain constant
throughout the burning of the propellant, the specific impulse is the time for which the rocket engine
provides a thrust equal to the weight of the propellant consumed.

For a given engine, the specific impulse has different values on the ground and in the vacuum of space
because the ambient pressure is involved in the expression for the thrust. It is therefore important to
state whether specific impulse is the value at sea level or in a vacuum.

There are a number of losses within a rocket engine, the main ones being related to the inefficiency of
the chemical reaction (combustion) process, losses due to the nozzle, and losses due to the pumps.
Overall, the losses affect the efficiency of the specific impulse. This is the ratio of the real specific
impulse (at sea level, or in a vacuum) and the theoretical specific impulse obtained with an ideal
nozzle from gases coming from a complete chemical reaction. Calculated values of specific impulse are
several percent higher than those attained in practice.

Click here for example problem #1.6

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From Equation (1.8) we can substitute qC for F in Equation (1.23), thus obtaining

Equation (1.24) is very useful when solving Equations (1.18) through (1.21). It is rare we are given
the value of C directly, however rocket engine specific impulse is a commonly given parameter from
which we can easily calculate C.

Another important figure of merit for evaluating rocket performance is the characteristic exhaust
velocity, C* (pronounced "C star"), which is a measure of the energy available from the combustion
process and is given by

where Pc is the combustion chamber pressure and At is the area of the nozzle throat. Delivered values
of C* range from about 1,333 m/s for monopropellant hydrazine up to about 2,360 m/s for cryogenic
oxygen/hydrogen.

Rocket Engines
A typical rocket engine consists of the
nozzle, the combustion chamber, and the
injector, as shown in Figure 1.4. The
combustion chamber is where the burning
of propellants takes place at high pressure.
The chamber must be strong enough to
contain the high pressure generated by,
and the high temperature resulting from,
the combustion process. Because of the
high temperature and heat transfer, the
chamber and nozzle are usually cooled.
The chamber must also be of sufficient
length to ensure complete combustion
before the gases enter the nozzle.

Nozzle

The function of the nozzle is to convert the chemical-thermal energy generated in the combustion
chamber into kinetic energy. The nozzle converts the slow moving, high pressure, high temperature
gas in the combustion chamber into high velocity gas of lower pressure and temperature. Since thrust
is the product of mass and velocity, a very high gas velocity is desirable. Nozzles consist of a
convergent and divergent section. The minimum flow area between the convergent and divergent
section is called the nozzle throat. The flow area at the end of the divergent section is called the nozzle
exit area. The nozzle is usually made long enough (or the exit area is great enough) such that the
pressure in the combustion chamber is reduced at the nozzle exit to the pressure existing outside the
nozzle. It is under this condition, Pe=Pa where Pe is the pressure at the nozzle exit and Pa is the
outside ambient pressure, that thrust is maximum and the nozzle is said to be adapted, also called
optimum or correct expansion. When Pe is greater than Pa, the nozzle is under-extended. When the
opposite is true, it is over-extended.

We see therefore, a nozzle is designed for the altitude at which it has to operate. At the Earth's
surface, at the atmospheric pressure of sea level (0.1 MPa or 14.7 psi), the discharge of the exhaust
gases is limited by the separation of the jet from the nozzle wall. In the cosmic vacuum, this physical
limitation does not exist. Therefore, there have to be two different types of engines and nozzles, those
which propel the first stage of the launch vehicle through the atmosphere, and those which propel
subsequent stages or control the orientation of the spacecraft in the vacuum of space.

The nozzle throat area, At, can be found if the total propellant flow rate is known and the propellants
and operating conditions have been selected. Assuming perfect gas law theory, we have

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where q is the propellant mass flow rate, Pt is the gas pressure at the nozzle throat, Tt is the gas
temperature at the nozzle throat, R* is the universal gas constant, and k is the specific heat ratio. Pt
and Tt are given by

where Pc is the combustion chamber pressure and Tc is the combustion chamber flame temperature.

Click here for example problem #1.7

The hot gases must be expanded in the diverging section of the nozzle to obtain maximum thrust. The
pressure of these gases will decrease as energy is used to accelerate the gas. We must find that area
of the nozzle where the gas pressure is equal to the outside atmospheric pressure. This area will then
be the nozzle exit area.

Mach number Nm is the ratio of the gas velocity to the local speed of sound. The Mach number at the
nozzle exit is given by the perfect gas expansion expression

where Pa is the pressure of the ambient atmosphere.

The nozzle exit area, Ae, corresponding to the exit Mach number is given by

The section ratio, or expansion ratio, is defined as the area of the exit Ae divided by the area of the
throat At.

Click here for example problem #1.8

For launch vehicles (particularly first stages) where the ambient pressure varies during the burn
period, trajectory computations are performed to determine the optimum exit pressure. However, an
additional constraint is the maximum allowable diameter for the nozzle exit cone, which in some cases
is the limiting constraint. This is especially true on stages other than the first, where the nozzle
diameter may not be larger than the outer diameter of the stage below. For space engines, where the
ambient pressure is zero, thrust always increases as nozzle expansion ratio increases. On these
engines, the nozzle expansion ratio is generally increased until the additional weight of the longer
nozzle costs more performance than the extra thrust it generates.

(For additional information, please see Supplement #1: Optimizing Expansion for Maximum Thrust.)

Since the flow velocity of the gases in the converging section of the rocket nozzle is relatively low, any
smooth and well-rounded convergent nozzle section will have very low energy loses. By contrast, the
contour of the diverging nozzle section is very important to performance, because of the very high
flow velocities involved. The selection of an optimum nozzle shape for a given expansion ratio is
generally influenced by the following design considerations and goals: (1) uniform, parallel, axial gas
flow at the nozzle exit for maximum momentum vector, (2) minimum separation and turbulence losses
within the nozzle, (3) shortest possible nozzle length for minimum space envelope, weight, wall friction
losses, and cooling requirements, and (4) ease of manufacturing.

Conical nozzle: In early rocket engine applications, the conical nozzle, which proved satisfactory in
most respects, was used almost exclusively. A conical nozzle allows ease of manufacture and flexibility
in converting an existing design to higher or lower expansion ratio without major redesign.

The configuration of a typical conical nozzle is shown in Figure 1.4. The nozzle throat section has the
contour of a circular arc with radius R, ranging from 0.25 to 0.75 times the throat diameter, Dt. The

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half-angle of the nozzle convergent cone section, , can range from 20 to 45 degrees. The divergent
cone half-angle, , varies from approximately 12 to 18 degrees. The conical nozzle with a 15-degree
divergent half-angle has become almost a standard because it is a good compromise on the basis of
weight, length, and performance.

Since certain performance losses occur in a conical nozzle as a result of the nonaxial component of the
exhaust gas velocity, a correction factor, , is applied in the calculation of the exit-gas momentum.
This factor (thrust efficiency) is the ratio between the exit-gas momentum of the conical nozzle and
that of an ideal nozzle with uniform, parallel, axial gas-flow. The value of can be expressed by the
following equation:

Bell nozzle: To gain higher performance and

shorter length, engineers developed the bell-
shaped nozzle. It employs a fast-expansion
(radial-flow) section in the initial divergent
region, which leads to a uniform, axially
directed flow at the nozzle exit. The wall
contour is changed gradually enough to
prevent oblique shocks.

An equivalent 15-degree half-angle conical

nozzle is commonly used as a standard to
specify bell nozzles. For instance, the length of
an 80% bell nozzle (distance between throat
and exit plane) is 80% of that of a 15-degree
half-angle conical nozzle having the same throat area, radius below the throat, and area expansion
ratio. Bell nozzle lengths beyond approximately 80% do not significantly contribute to performance,
especially when weight penalties are considered. However, bell nozzle lengths up to 100% can be
optimum for applications stressing very high performance.

One convenient way of designing a near optimum thrust bell nozzle contour uses the parabolic
approximation procedures suggested by G.V.R. Rao. The design configuration of a parabolic
approximation bell nozzle is shown in Figure 1.5. The nozzle contour immediately upstream of the
throat T is a circular arc with a radius of 1.5 Rt. The divergent section nozzle contour is made up of a
circular entrance section with a radius of 0.382 Rt from the throat T to the point N and parabola from
there to the exit E.

Design of a specific nozzle requires the following data: throat diameter Dt, axial length of the nozzle
from throat to exit plane Ln (or the desired fractional length, Lf, based on a 15-degree conical nozzle),
expansion ratio , initial wall angle of the parabola n, and nozzle exit wall angle e. The wall angles
n and e are shown in Figure 1.6 as a function of the expansion ratio. Optimum nozzle contours can
be approximated very accurately by selecting the proper inputs. Although no allowance is made for
different propellant combinations, experience has shown only small effect of the specific heat ratio
upon the contour.

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Combustion Chamber

The combustion chamber serves as an envelope to retain the propellants for a sufficient period to
ensure complete mixing and combustion. The required stay time, or combustion residence time, is a
function of many parameters. The theoretically required combustion chamber volume is a function of
the mass flow rate of the propellants, the average density of the combustion products, and the stay
time needed for efficient combustion. This relationship can be expressed by the following equation:

where Vc is the chamber volume, q is the propellant mass flow rate, V is the average specific volume,
and ts is the propellant stay-time.

A useful parameter relative to chamber volume and residence time is the characteristic length, L*
(pronounced "L star"), the chamber volume divided by the nozzle sonic throat area:

The L* concept is much easier to visualize than the more elusive "combustion residence time",
expressed in small fractions of a second. Since the value of At is in nearly direct proportion to the
product of q and V, L* is essentially a function of ts.

The customary method of establishing the L* of a new thrust chamber design largely relies on past
experience with similar propellants and engine size. Under a given set of operating conditions, such as
type of propellant, mixture ratio, chamber pressure, injector design, and chamber geometry, the value
of the minimum required L* can only be evaluated by actual firings of experimental thrust chambers.
Typical L* values for various propellants are shown in the table below. With throat area and minimum
required L* established, the chamber volume can be calculated by equation (1.33).

Table 1: Chamber Characteristic Length, L*

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Propellant Combination L*, cm

Nitric acid/hydrazine-base fuel 76-89
Nitrogen tetroxide/hydrazine-base fuel 76-89
Hydrogen peroxide/RP-1 (including catalyst bed)   152-178
Liquid oxygen/RP-1 102-127
Liquid oxygen/ammonia 76-102
Liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen (GH2 injection) 56-71

Liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen (LH2 injection) 76-102

Liquid fluorine/liquid hydrogen (GH2 injection) 56-66

Liquid fluorine/liquid hydrogen (LH2 injection) 64-76

Liquid fluorine/hydrazine 61-71
Chlorine trifluoride/hydrazine-base fuel 51-89

Three geometrical shapes have been used in combustion chamber design - spherical, near-spherical,
and cylindrical - with the cylindrical chamber being employed most frequently in the United States.
Compared to a cylindrical chamber of the same volume, a spherical or near-spherical chamber offers
the advantage of less cooling surface and weight; however, the spherical chamber is more difficult to
manufacture and has provided poorer performance in other respects.

The total combustion process, from injection of the reactants until completion of the chemical
reactions and conversion of the products into hot gases, requires finite amounts of time and volume,
as expressed by the characteristic length L*. The value of this factor is significantly greater than the
linear length between injector face and throat plane. The contraction ratio is defined as the major
cross-sectional area of the combuster divided by the throat area. Typically, large engines are
constructed with a low contraction ratio and a comparatively long length; and smaller chambers
employ a large contraction ratio with a shorter length, while still providing sufficient L* for adequate
vaporization and combustion dwell-time.

As a good place to start, the process of sizing a new combustion chamber examines the dimensions of
previously successful designs in the same size class and plotting such data in a rational manner. The
throat size of a new engine can be generated with a fair degree of confidence, so it makes sense to
plot the data from historical sources in relation to throat diameter. Figure 1.7 plots chamber length as
a function of throat diameter (with approximating equation). It is important that the output of any
modeling program not be slavishly applied, but be considered a logical starting point for specific
engine sizing.

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The basic elements of a cylindrical thrust-chamber are identified in Figure 1.4. In design practice, it
has been arbitrarily defined that the combustion chamber volume includes the space between the
injector face and the nozzle throat plane. The approximate volume of the combustion chamber can be
expressed by the following equation:

Rearranging equation (1.34) we get the following, which can be solved for the chamber diameter via
iteration:

Click here for example problem #1.9

Injector

The injector, as the name implies, injects the propellants into the combustion chamber in the right
proportions and the right conditions to yield an efficient, stable combustion process. Placed at the
forward, or upper, end of the combustor, the injector also performs the structural task of closing off
the top of the combustion chamber against the high pressure and temperature it contains. The injector
has been compared to the carburetor of an automobile engine, since it provides the fuel and oxidizer
at the proper rates and in the correct proportions, this may be an appropriate comparison. However,
the injector, located directly over the high-pressure combustion, performs many other functions
related to the combustion and cooling processes and is much more important to the function of the
rocket engine than the carburetor is for an automobile engine.

No other component of a rocket engine has as great an impact upon engine performance as the
injector. In various and different applications, well-designed injectors may have a fairly wide spread in
combustion efficiency, and it is not uncommon for an injector with C* efficiency as low as 92% to be
considered acceptable. Small engines designed for special purposes, such as attitude control, may be
optimized for response and light weight at the expense of combustion efficiency, and may be deemed
very satisfactory even if efficiency falls below 90%. In general, however, recently well-designed
injection systems have demonstrated C* efficiencies so close to 100% of theoretical that the ability to
measure this parameter is the limiting factor in its determination. High levels of combustion efficiency
derive from uniform distribution of the desired mixture ratio and fine atomization of the liquid
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propellants. Local mixing within the injection-element spray pattern must take place at virtually a
microscopic level to ensure combustion efficiencies approaching 100%.

Combustion stability is also a very important requirement for a satisfactory injector design. Under
certain conditions, shock and detonation waves are generated by local disturbances in the chamber,
possibly caused by fluctuations in mixing or propellant flow. These may trigger pressure oscillations
that are amplified and maintained by the combustion processes. Such high-amplitude waves - referred
to as combustion instability - produce high levels of vibration and heat flux that can be very
destructive. A major portion of the design and development effort therefore concerns stable
combustion. High performance can become secondary if the injector is easily triggered into destructive
instability, and many of the injector parameters that provide high performance appear to reduce the
stability margin.

Power Cycles
Liquid bipropellant rocket engines can be categorized according to their power cycles, that is, how
power is derived to feed propellants to the main combustion chamber. Described below are some of
the more common types.

Gas-generator cycle: The gas-generator cycle, also called open cycle, taps off a small amount of fuel
and oxidizer from the main flow (typically 2 to 7 percent) to feed a burner called a gas generator. The
hot gas from this generator passes through a turbine to generate power for the pumps that send
propellants to the combustion chamber. The hot gas is then either dumped overboard or sent into the
main nozzle downstream. Increasing the flow of propellants into the gas generator increases the speed
of the turbine, which increases the flow of propellants into the main combustion chamber, and hence,
the amount of thrust produced. The gas generator must burn propellants at a less-than-optimal
mixture ratio to keep the temperature low for the turbine blades. Thus, the cycle is appropriate for
moderate power requirements but not high-power systems, which would have to divert a large portion
of the main flow to the less efficient gas-generator flow.

As in most rocket engines, some of the propellant in a gas generator cycle is used to cool the nozzle
and combustion chamber, increasing efficiency and allowing higher engine temperature.

Staged combustion cycle: In a staged combustion cycle, also called closed cycle, the propellants are
burned in stages. Like the gas-generator cycle, this cycle also has a burner, called a preburner, to
generate gas for a turbine. The preburner taps off and burns a small amount of one propellant and a
large amount of the other, producing an oxidizer-rich or fuel-rich hot gas mixture that is mostly
unburned vaporized propellant. This hot gas is then passed through the turbine, injected into the main
chamber, and burned again with the remaining propellants. The advantage over the gas-generator
cycle is that all of the propellants are burned at the optimal mixture ratio in the main chamber and no
flow is dumped overboard. The staged combustion cycle is often used for high-power applications. The
higher the chamber pressure, the smaller and lighter the engine can be to produce the same thrust.

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Development cost for this cycle is higher because the high pressures complicate the development
process. Further disadvantages are harsh turbine conditions, high temperature piping required to carry
hot gases, and a very complicated feedback and control design.

Staged combustion was invented by Soviet engineers and first appeared in 1960. In the West, the first
laboratory staged combustion test engine was built in Germany in 1963.

Expander cycle: The expander cycle is similar to the staged combustion cycle but has no preburner.
Heat in the cooling jacket of the main combustion chamber serves to vaporize the fuel. The fuel vapor
is then passed through the turbine and injected into the main chamber to burn with the oxidizer. This
cycle works with fuels such as hydrogen or methane, which have a low boiling point and can be
vaporized easily. As with the staged combustion cycle, all of the propellants are burned at the optimal
mixture ratio in the main chamber, and typically no flow is dumped overboard; however, the heat
transfer to the fuel limits the power available to the turbine, making this cycle appropriate for small to
midsize engines. A variation of the system is the open, or bleed, expander cycle, which uses only a
portion of the fuel to drive the turbine. In this variation, the turbine exhaust is dumped overboard to
ambient pressure to increase the turbine pressure ratio and power output. This can achieve higher
chamber pressures than the closed expander cycle although at lower efficiency because of the
overboard flow.

Pressure-fed cycle: The simplest system, the pressure-fed cycle, does not have pumps or turbines
but instead relies on tank pressure to feed the propellants into the main chamber. In practice, the
cycle is limited to relatively low chamber pressures because higher pressures make the vehicle tanks
too heavy. The cycle can be reliable, given its reduced part count and complexity compared with other
systems.

Engine Cooling
The heat created during combustion in a rocket engine is contained within the exhaust gases. Most of
this heat is expelled along with the gas that contains it; however, heat is transferred to the thrust
chamber walls in quantities sufficient to require attention.

Thrust chamber designs are generally categorized or identified by the hot gas wall cooling method or
the configuration of the coolant passages, where the coolant pressure inside may be as high as 500
atmospheres. The high combustion temperatures (2,500 to 3,600o K) and the high heat transfer rates
(up to 16 kJ/cm2-s) encountered in a combustion chamber present a formidable challenge to the
designer. To meet this challenge, several chamber cooling techniques have been utilized successfully.
Selection of the optimum cooling method for a thrust chamber depends on many considerations, such
as type of propellant, chamber pressure, available coolant pressure, combustion chamber
configuration, and combustion chamber material.

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Regenerative cooling is the most widely used method of cooling a thrust chamber and is
accomplished by flowing high-velocity coolant over the
back side of the chamber hot gas wall to convectively cool
the hot gas liner. The coolant with the heat input from
cooling the liner is then discharged into the injector and
utilized as a propellant.

Earlier thrust chamber designs, such as the V-2 and

Redstone, had low chamber pressure, low heat flux and
low coolant pressure requirements, which could be
satisfied by a simplified "double wall chamber" design with
regenerative and film cooling. For subsequent rocket
engine applications, however, chamber pressures were
increased and the cooling requirements became more
difficult to satisfy. It became necessary to design new
coolant configurations that were more efficient structurally
and had improved heat transfer characteristics.

This led to the design of "tubular wall" thrust chambers,

by far the most widely used design approach for the vast
majority of large rocket engine applications. These
chamber designs have been successfully used for the Thor,
Jupiter, Atlas, H-1, J-2, F-1, RS-27 and several other Air
Force and NASA rocket engine applications. The primary
advantage of the design is its light weight and the large experience base that has accrued. But as
chamber pressures and hot gas wall heat fluxes have continued to increase (>100 atm), still more
effective methods have been needed.

One solution has been "channel wall" thrust chambers, so named because the hot gas wall cooling is
accomplished by flowing coolant through rectangular channels, which are machined or formed into a
hot gas liner fabricated from a high-conductivity material, such as copper or a copper alloy. A prime
example of a channel wall combustion chamber is the SSME, which operates at 204 atmospheres
nominal chamber pressure at 3,600 K for a duration of 520 seconds. Heat transfer and structural
characteristics are excellent.

In addition to the regeneratively cooled designs mentioned above, other thrust chamber designs have
been fabricated for rocket engines using dump cooling, film cooling, transpiration cooling, ablative
liners and radiation cooling. Although regeneratively cooled combustion chambers have proven to be
the best approach for cooling large liquid rocket engines, other methods of cooling have also been
successfully used for cooling thrust chamber assemblies. Examples include:

Dump cooling, which is similar to regenerative cooling because the coolant flows through small
passages over the back side of the thrust chamber wall. The difference, however, is that after cooling
the thrust chamber, the coolant is discharged overboard through openings at the aft end of the
divergent nozzle. This method has limited application because of the performance loss resulting from
dumping the coolant overboard. To date, dump cooling has not been used in an actual application.

Film cooling provides protection from excessive heat by introducing a thin film of coolant or
propellant through orifices around the injector periphery or through manifolded orifices in the chamber
wall near the injector or chamber throat region. This method is typically used in high heat flux regions
and in combination with regenerative cooling.

Transpiration cooling provides coolant (either gaseous or liquid propellant) through a porous
chamber wall at a rate sufficient to maintain the chamber hot gas wall to the desired temperature. The
technique is really a special case of film cooling.

With ablative cooling, combustion gas-side wall material is sacrificed by melting, vaporization and
chemical changes to dissipate heat. As a result, relatively cool gases flow over the wall surface, thus
lowering the boundary-layer temperature and assisting the cooling process.

With radiation cooling, heat is radiated from the outer surface of the combustion chamber or nozzle
extension wall. Radiation cooling is typically used for small thrust chambers with a high-temperature
wall material (refractory) and in low-heat flux regions, such as a nozzle extension.

Solid Rocket Motors

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Solid rockets motors store propellants in solid form. The fuel is typically powdered aluminum and the
oxidizer is ammonium perchlorate. A synthetic rubber binder such as polybutadiene holds the fuel and
oxidizer powders together. Though lower performing than liquid propellant rockets, the operational
simplicity of a solid rocket motor often makes it the propulsion system of choice.

Solid Fuel Geometry

A solid fuel's geometry determines the area and contours of its exposed surfaces, and thus its burn
pattern. There are two main types of solid fuel blocks used in the space industry. These are cylindrical
blocks, with combustion at a front, or surface, and cylindrical blocks with internal combustion. In the
first case, the front of the flame travels in layers from the nozzle end of the block towards the top of
the casing. This so-called end burner produces constant thrust throughout the burn. In the second,
more usual case, the combustion surface develops along the length of a central channel. Sometimes
the channel has a star shaped, or other, geometry to moderate the growth of this surface.

The shape of the fuel block for a rocket is chosen for the particular type of mission it will perform.
Since the combustion of the block progresses from its free surface, as this surface grows, geometrical
considerations determine whether the thrust increases, decreases or stays constant.

Fuel blocks with a cylindrical channel (1) develop their thrust progressively. Those with a channel and
also a central cylinder of fuel (2) produce a relatively constant thrust, which reduces to zero very
quickly when the fuel is used up. The five pointed star profile (3) develops a relatively constant thrust
which decreases slowly to zero as the last of the fuel is consumed. The 'cruciform' profile (4) produces
progressively less thrust. Fuel in a block with a 'double anchor' profile (5) produces a decreasing thrust
which drops off quickly near the end of the burn. The 'cog' profile (6) produces a strong inital thrust,
followed by an almost constant lower thrust.

Burn Rate

The burning surface of a rocket propellant grain recedes in a direction perpendicular to this burning
surface. The rate of regression, typically measured in millimeters per second (or inches per second), is
termed burn rate. This rate can differ significantly for different propellants, or for one particular
propellant, depending on various operating conditions as well as formulation. Knowing quantitatively
the burning rate of a propellant, and how it changes under various conditions, is of fundamental
importance in the successful design of a solid rocket motor.

Propellant burning rate is influenced by certain factors, the most significant being: combustion
chamber pressure, initial temperature of the propellant grain, velocity of the combustion gases flowing
parallel to the burning surface, local static pressure, and motor acceleration and spin. These factors
are discussed below.
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Burn rate is profoundly affected by chamber pressure. The usual representation of the pressure
dependence on burn rate is the Saint-Robert's Law,

where r is the burn rate, a is the burn rate coefficient, n is the pressure exponent, and Pc is the
combustion chamber pressure. The values of a and n are determined empirically for a particular
propellant formulation and cannot be theoretically predicted. It is important to realize that a
single set of a, n values are typically valid over a distinct pressure range. More than one set may
be necessary to accurately represent the full pressure regime of interest.

Example a, n values are 5.6059* (pressure in MPa, burn rate in mm/s) and 0.35 respectively for
the Space Shuttle SRBs, which gives a burn rate of 9.34 mm/s at the average chamber pressure
of 4.3 MPa.

* NASA publications gives a burn rate coefficient of 0.0386625 (pressure in PSI, burn rate in
inch/s).

Temperature affects the rate of chemical reactions and thus the initial temperature of the
propellant grain influences burning rate. If a particular propellant shows significant sensitivity to
initial grain temperature, operation at temperature extremes will affect the time-thrust profile of
the motor. This is a factor to consider for winter launches, for example, when the grain
temperature may be lower than "normal" launch conditions.

For most propellants, certain levels of local combustion gas velocity (or mass flux) flowing
parallel to the burning surface leads to an increased burning rate. This "augmentation" of burn
rate is referred to as erosive burning, with the extent varying with propellant type and chamber
pressure. For many propellants, a threshold flow velocity exists. Below this flow level, either no
augmentation occurs, or a decrease in burn rate is experienced (negative erosive burning).

The effects of erosive burning can be minimized by designing the motor with a sufficiently large
port-to-throat area ratio (Aport/At). The port area is the cross-section area of the flow channel in
a motor. For a hollow-cylindrical grain, this is the cross-section area of the core. As a rule of
thumb, the ratio should be a minimum of 2 for a grain L/D ratio of 6. A greater Aport/At ratio
should be used for grains with larger L/D ratios.

In an operating rocket motor, there is a pressure drop along the axis of the combustion chamber,
a drop that is physically necessary to accelerate the increasing mass flow of combustion
products toward the nozzle. The static pressure is greatest where gas flow is zero, that is, at the
front of the motor. Since burn rate is dependant upon the local pressure, the rate should be
greatest at this location. However, this effect is relatively minor and is usually offset by the
counter-effect of erosive burning.

Burning rate is enhanced by acceleration of the motor. Whether the acceleration is a result of
longitudinal force (e.g. thrust) or spin, burning surfaces that form an angle of about 60-90o with
the acceleration vector are prone to increased burn rate.

It is sometimes desirable to modify the burning rate such that it is more suitable to a certain grain
configuration. For example, if one wished to design an end burner grain, which has a relatively small
burning area, it is necessary to have a fast burning propellant. In other circumstances, a reduced
burning rate may be sought after. For example, a motor may have a large L/D ratio to generate
sufficiently high thrust, or it may be necessary for a particular design to restrict the diameter of the
motor. The web would be consequently thin, resulting in short burn duration. Reducing the burning
rate would be beneficial.

There are a number of ways of modifying the burning rate: decrease the oxidizer particle size, increase
or reduce the percentage of oxidizer, adding a burn rate catalyst or suppressant, and operate the
motor at a lower or higher chamber pressure. These factors are discussed below.

The effect of the oxidizer particle size on burn rate seems to be influenced by the type of
oxidizer. Propellants that use ammonium perchlorate (AP) as the oxidizer have a burn rate that
is significantly affected by AP particle size. This most likely results from the decomposition of AP
being the rate-determining step in the combustion process.

The burn rate of most propellants is strongly influenced by the oxidizer/fuel ratio. Unfortunately,
modifying the burn rate by this means is quite restrictive, as the performance of the propellant,
as well as mechanical properties, are also greatly affected by the O/F ratio.
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Certainly the best and most effective means of increasing the burn rate is the addition of a
catalyst to the propellant mixture. A catalyst is a chemical compound that is added in small
quantities for the sole purpose of tailoring the burning rate. A burn rate suppressant is an
additive that has the opposite effect to that of a catalyst – it is used to decrease the burn rate.

For a propellant that follows the Saint-Robert's burn rate law, designing a rocket motor to
operate at a lower chamber pressure will provide for a lower burning rate. Due to the
nonlinearity of the pressure-burn rate relationship, it may be necessary to significantly reduce
the operating pressure to get the desired burning rate. The obvious drawback is reduced motor
performance, as specific impulse similarly decays with reducing chamber pressure.

Product Generation Rate

The rate at which combustion products are generated is expressed in terms of the regression speed of
the grain. The product generation rate integrated over the port surface area is

where q is the combustion product generation rate at the propellant surface, p is the solid propellant
density, Ab is the area of the burning surface, and r is the propellant burn rate.

Click here for example problem #1.10

If the propellant density is unknown, it can be derived from the mass fraction and density of the
individual constituents, as follows:

where w is the mass fraction and the subscript i denotes the individual constituents. This is the ideal
density; the actual density is typically 94%-97% of the ideal density, owing to tiny voids in the grain,
and is dependant upon the manufacturing technique.

Click here for example problem #1.11

Condensed-Phase Mass

It is important to note that the combustion products may consist of both gaseous and condensed-
phase mass. The condensed-phase, which manifests itself as smoke, may be either solid or liquid
particles. Only the gaseous products contribute to pressure development. The condensed-phase
certainly does, however, contribute to the thrust of the rocket motor, due to its mass and velocity.

The occurrence of solids or liquids in a rocket's exhaust leads to a reduction in performance for a
number of reasons:

This portion of the combustion mass cannot perform any expansion work and, therefore, does
not contribute to acceleration of the exhaust flow.
The higher effective molecular weight of these products lowers the characteristic exhaust
velocity, C*.
Due to thermal inertia, the heat of the condensed species is partly ejected out of the nozzle
before transferring this heat to the surrounding gas, and is, therefore, not converted to kinetic
energy. This is known as particle thermal lag.
Likewise, due to the relatively large mass of the particles (compared to the gases), these cannot
accelerate as rapidly as the surrounding gases, especially in that portion of the nozzle where
flow acceleration is extremely high (throat region). Acceleration of the particles depends upon
frictional drag in the gas flow, which necessitates a differential velocity. The net result is that the
condensed-phase particles exit the nozzle at a lower velocity than the gases. This is referred to
as particle velocity lag.

Chamber Pressure

The pressure curve of a rocket motor exhibits transient and steady state behavior. The transient
phases are when the pressure varies substantially with time – during the ignition and start-up phase,
and following complete (or nearly complete) grain consumption when the pressure falls down to
ambient level during the tail-off phase. The variation of chamber pressure during the steady state

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burning phase is due mainly to variation of grain geometry with associated burn rate variation. Other
factors may play a role, however, such as nozzle throat erosion and erosive burn rate augmentation.

Monopropellant Engines
By far the most widely used type of propulsion for spacecraft attitude and velocity control is
monopropellant hydrazine. Its excellent handling characteristics, relative stability under normal
storage conditions, and clean decomposition products have made it the standard. The general
sequence of operations in a hydrazine thruster is:

When the attitude control system signals for thruster operation, an electric solenoid valve opens
allowing hydrazine to flow. The action may be pulsed (as short as 5 ms) or long duration (steady
state).
The pressure in the propellant tank forces liquid hydrazine into the injector. It enters as a spray
into the thrust chamber and contacts the catalyst beds.
The catalyst bed consists of alumina pellets impregnated with iridium. Incoming hydrazine heats
to its vaporizing point by contact with the catalyst bed and with the hot gases leaving the
catalyst particles. The temperature of the hydrazine rises to a point where the rate of its
decomposition becomes so high that the chemical reactions are self-sustaining.
By controlling the flow variables and the geometry of the catalyst chamber, a designer can tailor
the proportion of chemical products, the exhaust temperature, the molecular weight, and thus
the enthalpy for a given application. For a thruster application where specific impulse is
paramount, the designer attempts to provide 30-40% ammonia dissociation, which is about the
lowest percentage that can be maintained reliably. For gas-generator application, where lower
temperature gases are usually desired, the designer provides for higher levels of ammonia
dissociation.
Finally, in a space thruster, the hydrazine decomposition products leave the catalyst bed and exit
from the chamber through a high expansion ratio exhaust nozzle to produce thrust.

Monopropellant hydrazine thrusters typically produce a specific impulse of about 230 to 240 seconds.

Other suitable propellants for catalytic decomposition engines are hydrogen peroxide and nitrous
oxide, however the performance is considerably lower than that obtained with hydrazine - specific
impulse of about 150 s with H2O2 and about 170 s with N2O.

Monopropellant systems have successfully provided orbit maintenance and attitude control functions,
but lack the performance to provide weight-efficient large V maneuvers required for orbit insertion.
Bipropellant systems are attractive because they can provide all three functions with one higher
performance system, but they are more complex than the common solid rocket and monopropellant
combined systems. A third alternative are dual mode systems. These systems are hybrid designs that
use hydrazine both as a fuel for high performance bipropellant engines and as a monopropellant with
conventional low-thrust catalytic thrusters. The hydrazine is fed to both the bipropellant engines and
the monopropellant thrusters from a common fuel tank.

Cold gas propulsion is just a controlled, pressurized gas source and a nozzle. It represents the
simplest form of rocket engine. Cold gas has many applications where simplicity and/or the need to
avoid hot gases are more important than high performance. The Manned Maneuvering Unit used by
astronauts is an example of such a system.

Staging
Multistage rockets allow improved payload capability for vehicles with a high V requirement such as
launch vehicles or interplanetary spacecraft. In a multistage rocket, propellant is stored in smaller,
separate tanks rather than a larger single tank as in a single-stage rocket. Since each tank is
discarded when empty, energy is not expended to accelerate the empty tanks, so a higher total V is
obtained. Alternatively, a larger payload mass can be accelerated to the same total V. For
convenience, the separate tanks are usually bundled with their own engines, with each discardable
unit called a stage.

Multistage rocket performance is described by the same rocket equation as single-stage rockets, but
must be determined on a stage-by-stage basis. The velocity increment, Vi, for each stage is
calculated as before,

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where moi represents the total vehicle mass when stage i is ignited, and mfi is the total vehicle mass
when stage i is burned out but not yet discarded. It is important to realize that the payload mass for
any stage consists of the mass of all subsequent stages plus the ultimate payload itself. The velocity
increment for the vehicle is then the sum of those for the individual stages where n is the total number
of stages.

Click here for example problem #1.12

We define the payload fraction as the ratio of payload mass to initial mass, or mpl/mo.

For a multistage vehicle with dissimilar stages, the overall vehicle payload fraction depends on how the
V requirement is partitioned among stages. Payload fractions will be reduced if the V is partitioned
suboptimally. The optimal distribution may be determined by trial and error. A V distribution is
postulated and the resulting payload fraction calculated. The V distribution is varied until the payload
fraction is maximized. Once the V distribution is selected, vehicle sizing is accomplished by starting
with the uppermost or final stage (whose payload is the actual deliverable payload) and calculating the
initial mass of this assembly. This assembly then forms the payload for the previous stage and the
process repeats until all stages are sized. Results reveal that to maximize payload fraction for a given
V requirement:

1. Stages with higher Isp should be above stages with lower Isp.

2. More V should be provided by the stages with the higher Isp.

3. Each succeeding stage should be smaller than its predecessor.

4. Similar stages should provide the same V.

Compiled, edited and written in part by Robert A. Braeunig, 1997, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012.

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