HYBRID THRUSTER

As part of my third-year project at university, I decided to work on a hybrid rocket thruster. More specifically I planned to improve the hybrid thruster that had been previously developed at the University of Southampton to generate a thrust of 40 N. 

Typically, hybrid thrusters operate by passing a liquid or gaseous oxidiser through a cylindrical fuel grain, which then ignites to generate thrust. Cylindrical fuel grains are commonly due to the simplicity of their manufacture, however, they introduce several issues ranging from poor combustion efficiency to reduced restart capabilities. Therefore, to improve the performance of the existing thruster I explored the possibilities of alternative fuel grain geometries.

 During the project, I started by evaluating different fuel grain geometries on a range of aspects before developing the most promising design. I then proceeded to integrate the new design with parts from the existing hybrid thruster, thus reducing manufacturing costs a providing the ability to compare the final results. However, prior to conducting physical tests Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to evaluate flow characteristics within the thruster and identify areas of concern and areas for improvement. Furthermore, Finite Element Modelling (FEM) was employed to assess the safety of the thruster design. 

Finally, the rocket was tested at the university's jet propulsion lab. During the test temperature, pressure, and thrust data were collected, allowing for a full examination of the results and comparison with the standard cylindrical fuel grain.