ROCKET ENGINE:

Rocket engines are a class of jet propulsion systems in which two (or more) propellants
are reacted in an open volume. The heat evolved causes rapid expansion of gases through a
[typically] convergent-divergent nozzle and the momentum of the resulting supersonic jet
imparts a force on the rocket chamber. All rockets, by definition, carry both the fuel and oxidizer
required for the combustion reaction differentiating them from air-breathing jet engines.
Rocket engines have the highest thrust, are by far the lightest, but are the least propellant
efficient (have the lowest specific impulse). The ideal exhaust is hydrogen, the lightest of all
gases, but chemical rockets produce a mix of heavier species, reducing the exhaust velocity.
Rocket engines become more efficient at high velocities.Since they do not require an
atmosphere, they are well suited for uses at very high altitude and in space.
Rocket engine is based on the principle of Newtons third law. It states that,For every
action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKET ENGINES:

The rocket engine is classified into many types.They are

Chemical rocket engines

Nuclar rocket engines
Solar rocket engines

The Chemical rocket engines are classfied into three types.They are

Solid
Liquid
Hybrid

In a solid system the fuel and oxidizer both exist in solid form and are either molecularly
bonded or intimately mixed physically.
In a liquid system, both the fuel and oxidizer consist of liquids which are pumped
separately into the combustion chamber and reacted.

A hybrid system, as its name suggests, consists of one solid propellant and one liquid
propellant. The fuel can be either the liquid or the solid and the same goes for the oxidizer.

HYBRID ROCKET:
A hybrid rocket is a rocket with a rocket motor which uses rocket propellants in two
different phases. - one solid and the other either gas or liquid. The hybrid rocket concept can be
traced back at least 75 years.
Hybrid rockets avoid some of the disadvantages of solid rockets like their difficult fuel
handling, while also avoiding some disadvantages of liquid rockets like their mechanical
complexity.Because it is nearly impossible for the fuel and oxidizer to be mixed intimately
(being different states of matter), hybrid rockets tend to fail more benignly than liquids or solids.
Like liquid rocket motors, but unlike solid rocket motors, hybrid rocket motors can be shut down
easily and the thrust can be controlled with a simple throttle. The theoretical specific impulse
(

) performance of hybrids is generally higher than solid motors, and roughly equivalent

to hydrocarbon-based liquid motors but lower than some other liquid fuels.

as high as 400s

has been measured in a hybrid rocket using metalized fuels. [3] Hybrid systems are more complex
than solid ones, but they avoidsignificant hazards of manufacturing, shipping and handling solid
rocket motors.

BASIC CONCEPTS:
In its simplest form a hybrid rocket consists of a pressure vessel (tank) containing the
liquid propellant, the combustion chamber containing the solid propellant, and a valve isolating
the two. When thrust is desired, a suitable ignition source is introduced in the combustion
chamber and the valve is opened. The liquid propellant (or gas) flows into the combustion
chamber where it is vaporized and then reacted with the solid propellant. Combustion occurs in
a boundary layer diffusion flame adjacent to the surface of the solid propellant.
Generally the liquid propellant is the oxidizer and the solid propellant is the fuel because
solid oxidizers are problematic andlower performing than liquid oxidizers. Furthermore, using a
solid fuel such as Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) or paraffin wax allows for the
incorporation of high-energy fuel additives such as aluminium, lithium, or metal hydrides.
Common oxidizers include gaseous or liquid oxygen or nitrous oxide. Common fuels
include polymers such as polyethylene, cross-linked rubber such as HTPB or liquefying fuels
such as paraffin wax.

Pressurizing the liquid oxidizer is not an important element of hybrid technology and a
turbopump system could also perform this task. The oxidizer can be either a noncryogenic
(storable) or a cryogenic liquid, depending on the application requirements.
In this hybrid motor concept, oxidizer is injected into a precombustion or vaporization
chamber upstream of the primary fuel grain. The fuel grain contains numerous axial combustion
ports that generate fuel vapor to react with the injected oxidizer.

ADVANTAGES OF HYBRID ROCKET ENGINES:

The main advantages of a hybrid rocket propulsion system are:

Safety during fabrication, storage, or operation without any

possibility of explosion or detonation

Start-stop-restart capabilities
Relatively low system cost
Higher specific impulse than solid rocket motors and higher

density-specific impulse than liquid bipropellant engines

The ability to smoothly change motor thrust over a wide range
on demand.

ADVANTAGES COMPARED WITH LIQUID ROCKETS:

The advantages of Hybrid Rockets compared to the Liquid Rocket engines are

Mechanically simpler - requires only a single liquid propellant resulting in

less plumbing, fewer valves, and simpler operations.

Denser fuel - fuels in the solid phase generally have higher density than those

in the liquid phase, reducing overall system volume.

Metaladditives reactive metals such as
aluminium, magnesium, lithium or beryllium can be easily included in the fuel

grain increasing specific impulse( ), density specific impulse, or both.

Combustion instabilities - Hybrid rockets do not typically exhibit high

frequency combustion instabilities that plague liquid rockets.

Propellant pressurization - One of the most difficult to design portions of a
liquid rocket system are the turbopumps. Turbopumps design is complex as it
has to precisely and efficiently pump and keep separated two fluids of
different properties in precise ratios at very high volumetric flow rates, often
cryogenic temperatures, and highly volatile chemicals while combusting those
same fluids in order to power itself. Hybrids have far less fluid to move and
can often be pressurized by either blow-down or pressurized feed systems
which would be prohibitively heavy in a liquid rocket.

Cooling - Liquid rockets often depend on one of the propellants, typically the
fuel, to cool the combustion chamber, nozzle, and bell due to the very high
heat fluxes and vulnerability of the metal walls to oxidation and stress
cracking. Hybrid rockets have combustion chamber that are lined with the
solid propellant which shields it from the product gases. Their nozzles and
bells are often graphite or coated in ablative materials similarly to solid
rockets. The design, construction, and testing of liquid cooling flows is
complex and the system is prone to failure.

ADVANTAGES COMPARED WITH SOLID ROCKETS:

The Advantages of Hybrid rocket engine compared with Solid rocket engines.

Higher theoretical

compared to often used liquid oxidizers.

Less explosion hazard - Propellant grain more tolerant of processing errors

such as cracks. Propellant grain cannot be ignited by stray electrical charge.

Fewer handling and storage issues - Ingredients in solid rockets are often

- Is possible due to limits of known solid oxidizers

incompatible chemically and thermally. Repeated changes in temperature can

cause distortion of the grain. Antioxidants and coatings are used to keep the

grain from breaking down or decomposing.

More controllable - Stop/restart and throttling are all easily incorporated into
most designs. Solid rockets rarely can be shut down easily and almost never

have throttling or restart capabilities.

Can be transported to site in a benign form and loaded with oxidizer remotely
immediately before launch, improving safety.

DISADVANTAGES OF HYBRID ROCKETS:

The disadvantages of hybrid rocket propulsion systems are:

Mixture ratio and, hence specific impulse will vary somewhat during steadystate operation and throttling.

Lower density-specific impulse than solid propellant systems.

Some fuel sliver must be retained in the combustion chamber at end-ofburn,

which slightly reduces motor mass fraction

Unproven propulsion system feasibility at large scale.

One problem in designing large hybrid orbital rockets is that turbopumps become
necessary to achieve high flow rates and pressurization of the oxidizer. In a traditional liquidpropellant rocket, the turbopump uses the same fuel and oxidizer as the rocket, since they are
both liquid and can be fed to the pre-burner. But in a hybrid, the fuel is solid and cannot be fed to
a turbopump's engine. Some hybrids use an oxidizer that can also be used as a monopropellant,
such asnitromethane or hydrogen peroxide, and so a turbopump can run on it alone. But
nitromethane and hydrogen peroxide are significantly less efficient than liquid oxygen, which
cannot be used alone to run a turbopump. Another fuel would be needed, requiring its own tank
and decreasing rocket performance.