Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2023
27th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
The Effects of Controlled Iron Oxide, Aluminum Particles, and Crimson Powder Addition on Solid Propellants
Submission Author:
Matheus Klement , SC
Co-Authors:
Matheus Klement, Miguel Daehn Ribeiro, Richard Nakka, Cesar Addis Valverde Salvador
Presenter: Matheus Klement
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2023.COB2023-1982
Abstract
Solid propellants are widely used in the aerospace industry due to their reduced cost, simplicity of operation, and ease of manufacturing when compared to their liquid and hybrid counterparts. Furthermore, they also offer higher power and efficiency, making their use in rockets highly attractive. In this work, the effects of three additives: iron oxide, aluminum particles, and crimson powder on the performance of potassium nitrate and sorbitol (KNSB) solid propellants will be investigated. The additives act as a co-propellant, improving the performance of solid propellants by increasing the energy output, reaction temperature, and stability of the mixture, meaning that it releases more energy when burned. It is expected that the inclusion of these additives will improve the generated specific impulse and rate of regression of the propellant, as has been demonstrated in previous works already published. The results of the tests will be used to verify these expectations. Iron oxide is known to act as a combustion catalyst, promoting the reaction between the oxidant and fuel, thus increasing the rate of combustion. Aluminum particles, on the other hand, act as a reducing agent, releasing energy during the combustion process and increasing the specific impulse. As for the crimson powder, its expected effect is to increase the burning speed of the propellant. As expected results, it is intended to provide insights on the effects of adding iron oxide, aluminum particles, and crimson powder to KNSB. The inclusion of these additives should positively alter the aforementioned properties, and such results should contribute to the development of more efficient solid propellants for rocket applications. In addition, the results of this study may have implications for other solid propellant mixtures, as proven benefits may be applied to other solid propellant formulations. The results obtained will also be compared with data already available in the literature, on the use of additives in solid propellants, conducted at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte and at the University of Caxias do Sul.
Keywords
Solid propellants, Additives, specific impulse, Propulsion
