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Theoretical Aspects on Design and Performance Characteristics for Solid Rocket

Motor

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 International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM), ISSN: 2455-6211
Volume 10, Issue 2, February-2022, Impact Factor: 7.429, Available online at: www.ijaresm.com

Theoretical Aspects on Design and Performance

Characteristics for Solid Rocket Motor
Ankit Kumar Mishra1, Fathima Hilbathur Reema Mohamed Nassimdeen1, Shruti Jadhav2,
Masetty Akhsay3
1
Department of Research and Development, LIPS RESEARCH FOUNDATION, Kozhikodu- 673528, India
2
Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Sandip University, Maharashtra- 422213, India
3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Anurag Group of Institutions, Hyderabad-500088, India

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ABSTRACT

Solid Rocket Motors are widely used in sounding rockets and airborne missiles. The main reason for the study in
this field is that the solid rocket motor is very easy to handle and has a simple design. In this paper, we designed the
Solid Rocket case and the nozzle of the Solid Rocket Motor using SolidWorks software. The designs have been
developed to achieve a high thrust vector. The study also highlights the propellants being used in the solid rocket
motor. The performance parameters are also being described along with the material selection. The collaborative
research will aid in briefing the design and the working of the solid rocket motor that is frequently being utilized in
the industry.

Keywords: Design constraints, Material selection, Performance, Rocket motor.

I. INTRODUCTION

The Solid Rocket Motor is an essential part of the rocket and it holds the fuel which is used to propel it. The Solid Rocket
Motor usually comprises a combustion chamber, nozzle, tube, grain, and insulator. It works like a pressure vessel because
they store the propellant; the rocket motor operates by ejecting out high-temperature flue gases through the nozzle to
provide sufficient thrust for the rocket to propel [8]. The Solid Rocket Motor case usually consists of a tube; one end of the
tube contains the igniter while the other end is used to support the nozzle. The tube that deals with high Internal Pressure is
usually made up of thick-walled cylinders and if it deals with low Internal Pressure it is made up of thin-walled cylinders
[9]. The Nozzle usually comprises two parts i.e., one as convergent and the other as divergent. The exit area of the
convergent part is usually less than the divergent part thus increasing the velocity of the exhaust gases. The convergent and
divergent part of the nozzle is connected by the throat [10].Optimizing the design of the solid rocket motor is very
important due to its vast applications and is a highly integrated process. To solve the design problem in the Solid Rocket
Motor it is necessary to couple the design variables with trajectory and the target of the design. As a result, there is a
design objective for a solid rocket motor that would correspond to a predetermined performance characteristic as far as
possible [11].

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

Marimuthu et.al studied aboutsolid propellant rocket motors (SRM) that are commonly employed in sounding rockets and
airborne missiles, according to reports. SRMs are made up of three separate structural materials: solid propellant, liner, and
casing materials [1]. In the construction of tiny spacecraft, the solid rocket motor (SRM) plays a crucial role. However,
vertical flows can sometimes be caused by a propellant inhibitor, which produces pressure oscillation described by Ogawa
et.al [2]. Shaheen et.al analyzed the rocket motor case is a non-energy contributing missile component; the design goal is to
make the case as light as possible while staying within technological and economic constraints [3]. The propellants in the
motor are 98 percent hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene. The flow field structure in the pre-
combustion chamber and front half of the fuel grain port is mostly influenced by oxidizer flow distribution, according to
numerical study done by Tian et.al [4]. Kavya et.al mentioned about rocket motor casing that is subjected to the 3-
dimensional finite element based on fixedmechanical analysis and modal analysis retaining aluminum as well as titanium
composites, alloy steel, carbon epoxy, and e glass epoxy in this study. To undertake static structural and modal analysis,
rectangular, semi-circular, semi hexagonal, and triangular stiffeners are inserted into the rocket motor case [5]. Ankit et.al

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 International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM), ISSN: 2455-6211
Volume 10, Issue 2, February-2022, Impact Factor: 7.429, Available online at: www.ijaresm.com

presented a study on nozzle flow partition that is carried out by simulation of rocket nozzle designed Fusion 360 and
ANSYS to inspect the laminar as well as turbulent regime for deviating section of nozzle [15]. Yıldırımet.al researched on
thermal and pressure loads that occur during shipment, storage, and firing are thought to be the most important in defining
the motor's long-term behavior. Under these loading conditions, the stress and strain dissemination of the rocket motor is
dogged. Supremeloop strain at the propellant surface and link stresses at the heat-proofing interface is assessed as indicators
of cracking in the propellant grain and debonding at the liner–insulator interface, respectively [6]. Krishna et.al investigated
on characteristics that causes structural failure include ultimate tensile strength and material thickness. The square root of
the crack length is inversely proportional to the fracture strength of classical brittle material. When the material's stress
strength factor reaches an acute value, known as the critical stress strength factor, it fails as a brittle fracture. It is a material
attribute that determines which material is best for a rocket motor. It lowers as the thickness of the material increases. The
maximum circumferential stress caused by propellant gas pressure should be less than two-thirds of the material's yield
strength. The governing factor in determining the appropriate material for a rocket motor is the critical stress intensity
factor Kc. It is also beneficial to choose a material thickness that will not fail under plane strain and will only fracture under
plane stress [7]. Ankit et.al reviewed about pintle injector used in rocket nozzle along with motor combination for
generating higher amount of thrust. It show the influence of spray angles and characteristics such as flow as well as
combustion on spray images, droplet size, momentum ratio, opening distance and SMD distributions which affect the
injector geometry [16].Ankit et.al paper discussed a theoretical and conceptual design for compact size 2 stage
sounding rocket by focusing on structural optimizations at various levels. The aim of the paper is to develop a two-stage
sounding rocket with overall length constrained to 1 meter. Based on the payload mass, motor classification and structural
design for rocket components is developed [17].Numerical simulations were used to develop velocity outlines,
fluctuationregularities, and pressure breadths, which were then related to experimental data. If the vortex shedding
phenomena are coupled with high-order acoustic modes, the oscillations become more intense. Using pressure breadth in
the dome end, thrust breadth estimation can be more accurate. The link between thrust breadth and pressure breadth is
described using an integrated formula mentioned by Zhang et.al [12].Montesano et.al performed simulative study on model
made up of three physically linked components: a collective propellant and motor structure, core fluid flow, and propellant
combustion. During the simulations, a couplingcomponent is also used to control the fluid-structure–ignitionassociation
[13].The aim of paper is to design a two stage sounding rocket and its nozzles using fusion 360 and analysis of different
properties using simulation on ANSYS software. The rocket is designed to reach maximum apogee to perform scientific
experiments and can be recovered safely after use as described by Ankit et.al [18].

III. DESIGN OF SOLID ROCKET MOTOR

The Solid Propellant Rocket Motor or a Solid Rocket is a rocket engine that usually uses a solid propellant to propel the
rocket. The solid rocket Motor mainly consists of Motor Casing, Nozzle, Propellant grain, and igniter. The Combustion
Chamber is also known as a motor case that serves as a highly loaded pressure vessel comprised of the solid propellant or
grain. The Solid Propellant Rocket Motor is very easy to handle but once the combustion has begun it cannot be possible to
discontinuous the combustion at the desired time. The case also serves as the main structure for the missiles and the launch
vehicles. Therefore, optimizing the case design entails the trade-offs between vehicle design parameters and vehicle design
parameters [8].

Fig 1. Side view of Rocket motor

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 International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM), ISSN: 2455-6211
Volume 10, Issue 2, February-2022, Impact Factor: 7.429, Available online at: www.ijaresm.com

In this study, The Solid Rocket Motor has been designed using the SolidWorks 2021 software. In this design, the Solid
Rocket Motor case has a length of 4699mm, an external diameter of 1676.4 mm, an internal diameter of 609.6 mm, and a
thickness of the casing is 38.1mm.

IV. PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISCTICS

4.1 Thrust

Thrust is defined as the force developed due to the reaction of the acceleration of the working fluid. It is also defined as the
force developed due to a change in momentum of the propellant. Thrust is produced based on Newton’s third law (For
every action there is an equal and opposite reaction). It is the force that is responsible for the movement of the rocket
through the air, and space. It is produced by the rocket propulsion system i.e. the rocket motor. When the propellant is
expelled from the nozzle with high velocity in one direction then the thrust force is developed in opposite direction. The
magnitude of thrust developed of a rocket motor mainly depends upon exhaust velocity, the mass flow rate of the
propellant, and the exit pressure of the nozzle [14].

The equation for the Thrust is given by,

F = ṁve+ (pe-po)Ae(1)

Where,

ṁ = mass flow rate = mass/time

Ae = Exit Area

pe= pressure at the exit

po= pressure at the inlet

4.2 Burn Rate

The rate of regression of the propellant is defined as the Burn Rate. It is measured in inches/second or mm/second.
Depending on the various operating conditions, this rate will differ with different propellants. It is the function of propellant
combustion. The factors influencing the burn rate are Motor acceleration and spin, preliminary temperature of the
propellant, Ignition chamber pressure, and velocity of the combustion gases. The burn rate is a very important parameter as
it determines the rate at which the exhaust gases are produced due to the combustion of propellant, which in return
determines the amount of mass rate of flow through the nozzle [14].The rate of regression is given by,

r = aPcn ………………………………………………………..(2)

Where, a= burn rate constant

Pc = combustion chamber pressure

n = pressure exponent.

In a solid rocket motor, the fuel and oxidizer are premixed therefore once it is ignited the burning continues and it cannot be
shut off. So to control the Burn rate additives are added to the mixture of fuel and oxidizer [12].

4.3 Specific Impulse

It is therelation of thrust produced to the mass of the propellant. The unit for the specific impulse is seconds. The specific
impulse is a measure of how fast the propellant is ejected out from the nozzle, therefore a nozzle with a high specific
impulse produces more thrust for the same amount of fuel [14].The equation for Specific Impulse is given by-
𝑭
Isp = …………………………………………………………… (3)
ṁ𝒈𝟎

Where,F = Thrust Force

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 International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM), ISSN: 2455-6211
Volume 10, Issue 2, February-2022, Impact Factor: 7.429, Available online at: www.ijaresm.com

ṁ = mass flow rate of the propellant

g0 = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/sec2

4.4 Propulsive Efficiency

The Propulsive efficiency of a rocket is defined as the efficiency with which the amount of kinetic energy produced by the
engine is utilized to propel the rocket against the aerodynamic drag and gravitational forces.Due to aerodynamic drag, the
rocket requires more amount of energy than usual to propel. The expenditure required for this energy is substantial and is
reflected in the propulsive efficiency [14].The Propulsive efficiency of a rocket is calculated by-
𝟐𝒗𝟎/𝒗𝒆
Ƞp = ………………………………………………………….(4)
𝟏+(𝒗𝟎/𝒗𝒆 )𝟐

Where,V0 = Absolute velocity

Ve = Exhaust velocity

CONCLUSION

The Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) design was developed by considering the control aspects of the rocket to achieve the high
thrust vectoring for the SRM. Solid Rocket Motor has been successfully developed and can be utilized as propulsion units
in experiments. Solid rocket motors have longer staying period as referred from the above study. These motors are the
future views for Lower Earth Orbit Launch Vehicle and has the capability to hold payload under 2 tons for a particular
desirable mission. The study can be further carried more in order to study about the flow as well as thermal properties in
order to fulfill the future research gaps in solid rocket motors.

REFERENCES

[1] R. Marimuthu, B. Nageswara Rao, Development of efficient finite elements for structural integrity analysis of solid
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[2] OGAWA, Shinichiro & Sasaki, Daisuke, Two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics analysis of internal flow
in a simplified solid rocket motor combustion chamber, Journal of Fluid Science and Technology, 12(3), 2017.
[3] Shaik Shaheen, Dr. G. Srinivasa Gupta,Design and analysis of carbon-epoxy composite rocket motor casing,
International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 4, 2015.
[4] Hui Tian, Xianzhu Jiang, Ruipeng Yu, Hao Zhu, Yuanjun Zhang, GuobiaoCai, Numerical analysis of the hybrid
rocket motor with axial injection based on oxidizer flow distribution, Acta Astronautica, 192, 2022, 245-257.
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 International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM), ISSN: 2455-6211
Volume 10, Issue 2, February-2022, Impact Factor: 7.429, Available online at: www.ijaresm.com

[15] Ankit Kumar Mishra, Rishi Suhas Karandikar, Janani Kavipriya. S,Ashutoshkumar, “Study of nozzle flow
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[18] Ankit Kumar Mishra, Kshitij Gandhi, Kuldeep Sharma, Neerumalla Sumanth, “Conceptual design and analysis of
two stage sounding rocket”, International Journal of Universal Science and Engineering, 7(1): 52-72, 2021.

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