Effect of protrusion in the enhancement of regression rate in hybrid rocket

It has been reported in literature that the use of protrusion in the combustion chamber of a hybrid rocket motor enhances the regression rate. This study reports careful experiments conducted to show that the improvement in burn rate with protrusions is only up to a certain fraction of the overall burn time. From the results obtained, it is seen that an X/L of 0.5 is the best location for a graphite protrusion. The protrusions are also shown to increase the combustion eficiency by as much as 45 % when placed at an X/L of 0.5. This, more than the improvement in the regression rate is very useful, especially for small scale motors whose combustion eficiencies are otherwise very low. © 2011 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.