Thrust Augmentation in Solid Rocket Motors Using Beamed Microwave Energy
Abstract
Feasibility of using beamed microwave energy to increase thrust of solid rocket motors during launch is analyzed. Coupling of microwave radiation with internal energies of micron-sized alumina particles and the successive transfer of internal energy of particles to thermal and then kinetic energy of gas is expected to be the main mechanism of thrust increase. A two-phase two-way coupled capability has been developed. For the gas phase, the capability applies an Eulerian approach based on the solution of the Navier-Stokes equations, and uses VAC code modified to include particle source terms. For the particle phase, a Lagrangian approach is used based on a particle tracker that incorporates the impact of the gas and microwave radiation. The developed numerical capability is applied to compute the nozzle flow for a Castor 120 type motor with and without the microwave radiation. High gas density and thus fast collisional relaxation result in highly efficient transfer of microwave energy the kinetic energy of the flow. The total thrust was found to increase by 1.5% for a 100 MW/m2 beam, and 15% for a 1GW/m2 beam.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 13, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA506210
Entities
People
- Andrew Ketsdever
- Natalia E. Gimelshein
- Sergey F. Gimelshein