Development Of The Satine-T1 Hybrid Rocket Engine
- Paper number
IAC-07-C4.I.02
- Author
Mr. Steven Engelen, Technical University of Delft (TUDelft), The Netherlands
- Coauthor
Mr. Hein Olthof, Technical University of Delft (TUDelft), The Netherlands
- Coauthor
Mr. Louis Souverein, France
- Coauthor
Mr. Mark Uitendaal, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), The Netherlands
- Year
2007
- Abstract
In line with the DARE DEIMOS programme, which is short for the Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering’s Methane/Oxygen engine and rocket programme, and in light of the SSETI ESMO phase A studies, in which DARE is investigating a chemical propulsion option to insert the spacecraft into lunar orbit, the DARE Satinê programme was initiated. Its intent is to investigate the use of hybrid propulsion within DARE. Previously set aside for the liquid methane/oxygen engines DARE is developing, hybrid engines seemed too instable to work with. However, for the ESMO mission, a high-performance hybrid engine would arguably present the best design option, as it will be the lightest propulsion system delivering the required velocity increase, because of the self-pressurising nature of nitrous oxide as an oxidiser, which would simplify the feed system to great extent. A test engine would therefore have to be built to investigate these claims, and to observe just how much performance could be gained by using one of these engines, both for the ESMO mission and for DARE’s own interest in very high altitude sounding rockets and parallel stages for the DEIMOS rockets. The first test engine is the Satinê-T1 engine, and this document describes its design process, and the initial tests of its propellant combination. The engine is designed to reuse as much existing hardware as possible, in order to reduce cost. Therefore, due to mass flow limitations in the available test stand, the T1 engine’s thrust is limited to 850N. The propellant combination used in the engine is rather novel, and rather uncommon in hybrid rocket engines, but due to the past experience DARE has obtained with Sorbitol and Sucrose in its solid engines, it was selected nonetheless. It will use a solid grain composed of Sorbitol, (micro-) aluminium powder and graphite, with nitrous oxide as an oxidiser, delivering a theoretically achievable sea level specific impulse of 175 seconds, or a vacuum specific impulse of about 235 seconds. The safety and the extremely high reliability of the sorbitol based propellants DARE has been able to achieve were the main reason for selecting Sorbitol as a binder and fuel. The engine however is thus designed that it can also be used in combination with solid propellants and different hybrid propellants. A suitable solid propellant combination has also been found to test the casing process and evaluate the thermal liners and the nozzle assembly.
- Abstract document