Student Research Team Develops Hybrid Rocket Engine
Phoenix666 writes:
Student research team develops hybrid rocket engine:
In a year defined by obstacles, a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student rocket team persevered. Working together across five time zones, they successfully designed a hybrid rocket engine that uses paraffin and a novel nitrous oxide-oxygen mixture called Nytrox. The team has its sights set on launching a rocket with the new engine at the 2021 Intercollegiate Rocketry and Engineering Competition.
[...] Last year the team witnessed a number of catastrophic failures with hybrid engines utilizing nitrous oxide. The propellant frequently overheated in the New Mexico desert, where the IREC competition is held. Lembeck said this motivated the team to find an alternative fuel that could remain stable at temperature. Nytrox surfaced as the solution to the problem.
[...] In June 2021, the rocket will be transported to Spaceport America in Truth or Consequences for its first launch.
The team collaborated online to build their rocket.
Vignesh Sella et al. Development of a Nytrox-Paraffin Hybrid Rocket Engine, AIAA Propulsion and Energy 2020 Forum (2020). DOI: 10.2514/6.2020-3729
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