Investigation of the Operating Parameters and Performance of an Autophage, Hybrid Rocket Propulsion System

Bzdyk, K., Harkness, P. , Shaw, P. and Tufft, J. (2024) Investigation of the Operating Parameters and Performance of an Autophage, Hybrid Rocket Propulsion System. In: AIAA SCITECH 2024 Forum, Orlando, FL, 8-12 Jan 2024, (doi: 10.2514/6.2024-1604)

Abstract

This paper discusses the design, development and test of a novel autophage hybrid rocket propulsion system. An autophage, or self-consuming, rocket enables sections of the rocket body and fuselage to be utilized as a source of fuel, thereby reducing the structural mass fraction of the launch vehicle. This both increases the maximum payload mass of a launch system and allows for the miniaturization of launch vehicles so they may be used as nano-launchers for the rapid access of small satellites to low-earth orbit. Fundamentally, the autophage engine concept operates by extracting thermal energy from the combustion process and transferring it to a polymer based fuselage where it is melted in a controlled manner and injected into the combustion chamber. This report summarizes the results of the first successful test campaigns of the 100N Ouroboros-3 autophage propulsion system. The hot fire tests demonstrated the autophage propulsion concept in a laboratory environment and showed the rocket fuselage contributing between 4.45% to 15.69% of the total propellant mass during steady state operation; matching typical values for structural efficiency in conventional launch vehicles. A total of 5 tests operated the engine across a range of inlet conditions as well as in pulsed mode. The performance results of these tests verify the feasibility of the autophage engine concept and form an operational baseline for future work on scaling the autophage system to a higher thrust class.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Additional Information: AIAA 2024-1604. Session: Hybrid Rocket Design.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Bzdyk, Krzysztof and Tufft, Jack and Harkness, Professor Patrick
• Authors: Bzdyk, K., Harkness, P., Shaw, P., and Tufft, J.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy