Evaluation of the burning of paraffin-based fuels supported by polymeric matrices applied to hybrid rocket motors
Autor
Mariana Conti Tarifa
Orientador
- Orientador Pedro Teixeira Lacava
Área de Concentração
Propulsão Aeroespacial e Energia
Data de Defesa
24/11/2022
Número da Tese
78975
Resumo
Since the early 2000s, paraffin-based fuels have been the focus of research due to the high regression rates obtained in relation to classic hybrid fuels, such as hydroxylated polybutadiene (HTPB). However, the pure paraffin grain has low mechanical strength and considerable ejection of unburned fuel from the rocket motor nozzle. To mitigate these undesirable characteristics, methods such as the addition of different materials in the middle of the grain have been used. The use of polymer matrices to support the paraffin grain has been studied as a promising alternative. The matrices obtained by additive manufacturing allow complex geometries in an agile and less expensive way, while these materials have characteristics of fuels in essence, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polylactic acid (PLA). In this perspective, the present work evaluated the influence that the support of polymeric matrices in paraffin-based fuels can have on the formation of recirculation zones, burning efficiency and regression rate. For this, the methodology adopted was the visualization of the burning through a two-dimensional chamber with a quartz window, which allowed the analysis of the spatial behavior of the regression rate of the fuels and the identification of other combustion phenomena such as ignition delay, ejection of paraffin droplets and possible combustion instability. An experimental analysis of ABS, PLA and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was carried out, in which the ABS that best suited the purposes of this work was chosen. The grain geometry was varied depending on the number of fins in the ABS matrices, from two to ten equidistantly distributed fins. Significant improvement in burning efficiency was observed for all grains. Paraffin fuel grains supported by ABS matrices showed up to 95.8% improvement in reducing paraffin ejection when compared to pure paraffin. The highest regression rates were obtained by the polymeric matrix that contained five fins, however, the other samples tested did not show higher values when compared to pure paraffin. A final analysis was carried out contemplating the mass of paraffin actually burned in relation to the regression rate, so that it was evident that the use of polymeric matrices to support paraffin-based fuels improved the burning efficiency, since the samples supported by ABS matrices showed values from 54.5% to 272.7% higher.
