Combustion performance and scale effect from N2O/HTPB hybrid rocket motor simulations

HRM code for the simulation of N₂O/HTPB hybrid rocket motor operation and scale effect analysis has been developed. This code can be used to calculate motor thrust and distributions of physical properties inside the combustion chamber and nozzle during the operational phase by solving the unsteady Navier–Stokes equations using a corrected compressible difference scheme and a two-step, five species combustion model. A dynamic fuel surface regression technique and a two-step calculation method together with the gas–solid coupling are applied in the calculation of fuel regression and the determination of combustion chamber wall profile as fuel regresses. Both the calculated motor thrust from start-up to shut-down mode and the combustion chamber wall profile after motor operation are in good agreements with experimental data. The fuel regression rate equation and the relation between fuel regression rate and axial distance have been derived. Analysis of results suggests improvements in combustion performance to the current hybrid rocket motor design and explains scale effects in the variation of fuel regression rate with combustion chamber diameter.