EVALUATION OF ROCKET PROPULSION PERFORMANCE USING POTASSIUM NITRATE/SUCROSE AND ALUMINUM/ICE AS PROPELLANTS

Solid rocket motors are used as the propulsion back-bone for missiles, space launchers, as well as amateur model rocketry. To design a solid-propellant rocket motor a lot of factors must be considered because the compounds used in the propellant formulation are generally explosives. This work uses computer simulation software to predict the performance of two solid rocket propellants before they are been considered for production. The specific impulse, characteristic exhausts velocity, combustion temperature and combustion reaction products of potassium nitrate/sugar (KNSu) and aluminum/ice (ALICE) propellants were evaluated. The results demonstrated that ALICE propellant had a better performance than KNSu. ALICE presents a specific impulse of 170 s, while for KNSu the specific impulse is approximately 116 s. The characteristic exhaust velocity obtained for ALICE is 1364 m/s, whereas for KNSu is 925 m/s. In general, the specific impulse and characteristic exhaust velocity for ALICE are 47% higher when compared with KNSu.