Additively manufactured aluminium nested composite hybrid rocket fuel grains with breathable blades

Abstract

Hybrid rocket engines suffer from the restricted mechanical properties and low regression rates of current polymeric fuel grains. We propose a three-dimensional printed aluminium (Al) nested composite fuel grain with millimetre-scale lattice pores (referred to as Al-L). In this study, breathable Al blades with micrometer-scale interconnected pores (Al-B) and blades combining millimetre-scale and micrometer-scale pores (Al-B&L) are designed. The formation mechanisms, characteristics, and effects of the breathable blades are analysed in simulations, micro-computed tomography, and cyclic compression tests. The mechanical properties of the composite fuel grains are investigated numerically and in compression tests. Al-B has the highest Young’s modulus at more than 15 times that of a paraffin-based fuel grain and Al-B&L has the highest yield stress at 4 times that of the paraffin-based fuel grain. Referring to combustion properties, the regression rates of the Al-B and Al-B&L grains are respectively 63.3% and 58.2% greater than the regression rate of the paraffin-based fuel grain.