MANUFACTURING HYBRID ROCKET FUEL

From: Zdenko UVALIC (K975567@atlas.kingston.ac.uk)
Date: Wed Mar 08 2000 - 16:37:06 EET


From: EdGrenda@aol.com
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2000 11:44:30 EST
Subject: Re: MANUFACTURING HYBRID ROCKET FUEL
To: K975567@atlas.kingston.ac.uk, rp-ml@bart.lpt.fi

In a message dated 00-03-02 12:54:10 EST, you write:

<<
    The hybrid rocket fuels are mostly plastic based such as
 plexiglasor rubber.I am particularly intrested whether it would be
 possible to manufacture them by RP methods using polymers such as
      POLYBUTADINE
      POLYETHYLENE
      POLYMETHIL
      METHACRYLATE
      HYDROXIL TERMNATED POLYBUTADIENE (HTPB)
 which are commonly used rocket fuels
     
      I would appriciate if anyone could recommend, any friends,
 associates business or literature, who may have suitable information
 or experiance in RP technology.
>>
Dear Mr. Uvalic:

There could be more than one method of RP which is applicable to the problem.
 Can you tell us a little more about the application? Most of us are probably
pretty unfamiliar with these specific materials. For example:

How big does the final fuel mass have to be?

Are these materials thermoplastic in the usual sense? What kind of temps do
they melt at, etc.?

What forms do the materials present themselves in? Powders? Liquids?

What are the potential hazards of building rocket fuels? (I was in Las Vegas
when the Morton Thiokol Space Shuttle fuel plant blew up many years ago and
it knocked the doors off the room I was in 10 miles away.)

What advantage do you see for RP in the application?

Regards,
Ed

Ed Grenda
Castle Island Co.
19 Pondview Road
Arlington, MA 02474 USA
781-646-6280 (voice or fax)
EdGrenda@aol.com (email)
http://home.att.net/~castleisland/

For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/

Mr. Grenda,

   The size of the hybrid core I am trying to manufacture is
limited by working envelope of the Sanders MM-6PRO
 which is 6 x 6x 6 inch. The materials are thermoplastic except
HTBP which is syntetic rubber used in manufacture of automobile
tyres.The melting temperature of the polyethylene is 120 C,
polybutadie 154 C I believe for other thermoplastics is in the same
range.The hybrid rocket fuel is in solid form.
Safety: An intimate mixture of oxidizer and fuel is not possible.
Thus, exsplosive mixture that can occur in liquid and solid rockets
is impossible in hybrids. Also, because the fuel is inert, storage
and handling are much simple.
     What do you think which RP technique would be workable ?

Z.Uvalic
student
KIngston University
U.K.
 

For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/



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