ATTITUDE STABILIZATION USING A ROTATING PLUG NOZZLE.
Abstract
A modified plug nozzle in which the plug is spinning as a gyroscopic mass is investigated. It is postulated that exhaust gas flow is modulated between the plug and the rocket casing in such a manner as to provide a stabilizing moment around the rocket center of gravity, when the rocket longitudinal axis deviates from the plug-spin axis. Lagrange equations of motion are formulated for the dynamical system described by four generalized coordinates. These equations are mechanized in an analog computer to yield plots of rocket angular motions. Critical non-dimensional parameters for the system are identified and discussed. A small demonstrator model was designed, constructed and tested, first with a smooth conical plug, and then with a conical plug having indented turning slots in the area of the exhaust annulus. Tests conducted on the model demonstrated that sufficient gyroscopic rigidity can be generated to counter the unbalanced pressure field effects around the rotating plug. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0691852
Entities
People
- John E. Draim
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology