Exhaust Velocity and Specific

Impulse
What is the specific impulse?
𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑒 = 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 ∗ 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒
𝐼 = 𝐹𝑡

Specific impulse:

𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 ∗ 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 Δ𝑡 𝐹 𝐹
𝐼𝑠𝑝 = =𝐹∗ = =
𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 Δm Δ𝑚 𝑚ሶ
Δ𝑡

Eliott Wertheimer
Specific Impulse Units
From its definition:

𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 ∗ 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑁𝑠
𝐼𝑠𝑝 = =
𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑘𝑔
𝑚
But we know that 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 with m in kg and a in
𝑠2

𝑘𝑔∗𝑚 𝑠 𝑚
So: 𝐼𝑠𝑝 = =
𝑠 2 𝑘𝑔 𝑠

𝐼𝑠𝑝 𝑚
= 𝑠 with 𝑔 = 9.81
𝑔 𝑠2

Eliott Wertheimer
Within the Rocket Motor Chamber

External Atmospheric pressure Pa

Chamber Throat Exit

Eliott Wertheimer
 Chamber Forces Integration

External Atmospheric pressure Pa

Chamber Throat Exit

First, let’s integrate the force due to the propellant ejection:

𝐹1 = 𝑚𝑉
ሶ 𝑒

Then, the force due to the difference in pressure between inside the chamber and
the atmosphere:
𝐹2 = 𝐴𝑒 𝑃𝑒 − 𝐴𝑒 𝑃𝑎 = 𝐴𝑒 (𝑃𝑒 −𝑃𝑎 )

Eliott Wertheimer
Effective Exhaust Velocity

External Atmospheric pressure Pa

Chamber Throat Exit

Summing up these forces we can write:

𝐹 = 𝐹1 + 𝐹2 𝑒 = 𝑚𝑉
ሶ 𝑒 + 𝐴𝑒 (𝑃𝑒 −𝑃𝑎 )

This allows us to estimate the effective exhaust velocity C of the rocket:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑉ሶ 𝑒 + 𝐴𝑒 (𝑃𝑒 −𝑃𝑎 ) = 𝑚𝐶
ሶ

Eliott Wertheimer
Specific Impulse and Effective Exhaust Velocity
We can now realise that:
𝐹
𝐼𝑠𝑝 =
𝑚ሶ
However,
𝐹 = 𝑚𝐶
ሶ
So,
𝑚𝐶
ሶ
𝐼𝑠𝑝 = =𝐶
𝑚ሶ

The specific impulse of a rocket motor and its effective exhaust velocity are
equivalent!

Eliott Wertheimer