INTRODUCTION

In todays world, technology plays an integral role in the daily life of people of all ages. It affects
where we live, how we work, how we interact with each other, and what we aspire to
accomplish. Rocket science has become verbal shorthand for complexity. Saying that
something is not rocket science suggests that it is simple and easily grasped. The expression, in
turn, says something about the way we think of rockets: fantastically complex, unimaginably
powerful, the highest of high technology.
Newtons third law states that To every action force, there is an equal and opposite reaction
force. A rocket exploits Newtons third law in the same way that a deflating balloon does. A
force pushes a steady stream of gas out behind the rocket, and a force of equal magnitude pushes
the rocket itself in the opposite direction, ie; forward. The balloon is fueled with air that is
blown into it, held momentarily by clamping the neck shut, and then released when the neck is
opened. The rocket is fueled with combustible chemicals, that when burned inside the rocket,
yield a cloud of hot gas. Every gas (be it the exhaust gas in a rocket or air in a balloon) expands
to fill its container. Hotter gasses expand more rapidly than colder ones, as their molecules move
faster. The burning of a rockets propellant steadily adds more and more hot gas to the confined
space inside the rocket, raising the pressure that the gas exerts. The pressure forces a steady
stream of gas out through the open vent (or vents) at the rear of the rocket: the exhaust plume,
whose acceleration in one direction causes the rocket to accelerate in the opposite direction.
The force produced by a rocket is called thrust, and is usually measured in pounds or
kilograms. The most critical measures of a rockets performance are tied directly to the amount
of thrust it produces. The specific impulse of a rocket is the amount of thrust produced by 1
pound of propellant in 1 seconda measure of the fuels potency and the engines efficiency.
The thrust-to-weight ratio is exactly what its name suggests: a comparison between the thrust
that a rocket produces and its weight. The higher the thrust-to-weight ratio, the greater the
rockets ability to carry a payload and the propellant required to make the rocket function.
Payload capacity, range, and altitude measurements of a rocket are directly linked to the thrust it
produces.

HISTORY OF ROCKETS
The evolution of the rocket has made it an indispensable tool in the exploration of space. For
centuries, rockets have provided ceremonial and warfare uses starting with the ancient Chinese,
the first to create rockets. The rocket apparently made its debut on the pages of history as a fire
arrow used by the Chin Tartars in 1232 AD for fighting off a Mongol assault on Kai-feng-fu.
One of the first devices to successfully employ the principles essential to rocket flight was a
wooden bird. The writings of Aulus Gellius, a Roman, tell a story of a Greek named Archytas
who lived in the city of Tarentum, now a part of southern Italy. Somewhere around the year 400
B.C., Archytas mystified and amused the citizens of Tarentum by flying a pigeon made of wood.
Escaping steam propelled the bird suspended on wires. The pigeon used the action-reaction
principle, which was not stated as a scientific law until the 17th century.
About three hundred years after the pigeon, another Greek, Hero of Alexandria, invented a
similar rocket-like device called an aeolipile. It too used steam as a propulsive gas. Hero
mounted a sphere on top of a water kettle. A fire below the kettle turned the water into steam,
and the gas traveled through pipes to the sphere. Two L-shaped tubes on opposite sides of the
sphere allowed the gas to escape, and in doing so gave a thrust to the sphere that caused it to
rotate.
Just when the first true rockets appeared is unclear. Stories of early rocket like devices appear
sporadically through the historical records of various cultures. Perhaps the first true rockets were
accidents. In the first century A.D., the Chinese reportedly had a simple form of gunpowder
made from saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal dust. To create explosions during religous festivals,
they filled bamboo tubes with a mixture and tossed them into fires. Perhaps some of those tubes
failed to explode and instead skittered out of the fires, propelled by the gases and sparks
produced by the burning gunpowder.
The lineage to the immensely larger rockets now used as space launch vehicles is unmistakable.
But for centuries rockets were in the main rather small, and their use was confined principally to
weaponry, the projection of lifelines in sea rescue, signaling, and fireworks displays. Not until
the 20th century did a clear understanding of the principles of rockets emerge, and only then did
the technology of large rockets begin to evolve. Thus, as far as spaceflight and space science are
concerned, the story of rockets up to the beginning of the 20th century was largely prologue.
Legendary characters used the power of mythology to fly through the heavens. About 100 BC a
Greek inventor known as Hero of Alexandria came up with a new invention that depended more
on the mechanical interaction of heat and water. He invented a rocket-like device called an
Aeolipile. It used steam for propulsion. Hero mounted a sphere on top of a water kettle. A fire
below the kettle turned the water into steam, and the gas traveled through the pipes to the sphere.
Two L-shaped tubes on opposite sides of the sphere allowed the gas to escape, and in doing so
gave a thrust to the sphere that caused it to rotate. They sounded more like fireworks than rockets
but the Chinese used rockets in battle. In 1232 AD the Chinese used rockets against the Mongols
who were besieging the city of Kai-fung-fu. An arrow with a tube of gunpowder produced an
arrow of flying fire.
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In 1696, Robert Anderson, an Englishman, published a two-part treatise on how to make rocket
molds, prepare the propellants, and perform the calculations. uring the early introduction of
rockets to Europe, they were used only as weapons. Enemy troops in India repulsed the British
with rockets. Later in Britain, Sir William Congreve developed a rocket that could fire to about
9,000 feet. The British fired Congreve rockets against the United States in the War of 1812. The
English confrontation with Indian rockets came in 1780 at the Battle of Guntur. The closely
massed, normally unflinching British troops broke and ran when the Indian Army laid down a
rocket barrage in their midst. William Congreve's incendiary rocket used black powder, an iron
case, and a 16-foot guide stick.
Early in the 20th century, an American, Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945), conducted practical
experiments in rocketry. He had become interested in a way of achieving higher altitudes than
were possible for lighter-than-air balloons. He published a pamphlet in 1919 entitled A Method
of Reaching Extreme Altitudes. It was a mathematical analysis of what is today called the
meteorological sounding rocket.
The V-2 rocket (in Germany called the A-4) was small by comparison to today's rockets. It
achieved its great thrust by burning a mixture of liquid oxygen and alcohol at a rate of about one
ton every seven seconds. Once launched, the V-2 was a formidable weapon that could devastate
whole city blocks. With the fall of Germany, many unused V-2 rockets and components were
captured by the Allies in October 4, 1957, the world was stunned by the news of an Earthorbiting artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union. Called Sputnik I, the satellite was the
first successful entry in a race for space between the two superpower nations. Less than a month
later, the Soviets followed with the launch of a satellite carrying a dog named Laika on board.
Laika survived in space for seven days before being put to sleep before the oxygen supply ran
out. A few months after the first Sputnik, the United States followed the Soviet Union with a
satellite of its own. Explorer I was launched by the U.S. Army on January 31, 1958.
Soon, many people and machines were being launched into space. Astronauts orbited Earth and
landed on the Moon. Robot spacecraft traveled to the planets. Space was suddenly opened up to
exploration and commercial exploitation. Satellites enabled scientists to investigate our world,
forecast the weather, and to communicate instantaneously around the globe. As the demand for
more and larger payloads increased, a wide array of powerful and versatile rockets had to be
built.
Since the earliest days of discovery and experimentation, rockets have evolved from simple
gunpowder devices into giant vehicles capable of traveling into outer space. Rockets have
opened the universe to direct exploration by humankind.
The world of rocketry and space exploration has deep roots in the past. Today the dream of
human advancement into the heavens has turned to reality.

ROCKET TECHNOLOGY
The principle of the rocket is that the fuel contained within the body of the rocket goes through a
chemical reaction as it comes out of the end of the rocket. This reaction then causes thrust and
propels the rocket forward. This is an example of one of Sir Isaac Newton's fundamental laws.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Propellants are combined in a
combustion chamber where they chemically react to form hot gases which are then accelerated
and ejected at high velocity through a nozzle, thereby imparting momentum to the engine. The
thrust force of a rocket motor is the reaction experienced by the motor structure due to ejection
of the high velocity matter.

This is a representation of Newton's law.

A rocket is a machine that develops thrust by the rapid expulsion of matter. The major
components of a chemical rocket assembly are a rocket motor or engine, propellant consisting of
fuel and an oxidizer, a frame to hold the components, control systems and payloads such as a
satellite. A rocket differs from other engines in that it carries its fuel and oxidizer internally,
therefore it will burn in the vacuum of space as well as within the Earth's atmosphere. A rocket is
called a launch vehicle when it is used to launch a satellite or other payload into space. A rocket
becomes a missile when the payload is a warhead and it is used as a weapon. At present, rockets
are the only means capable of achieving the altitude and velocity necessary to put a payload into
an orbit.
The rockets are classified based on their applications, number of stages, size and range, and the
propellants used. Basically rockets are represented based on their propellants used. Most rockets
today operate with either solid or liquid propellants.The fuel is the chemical the rocket burns but,
for the burning to take place, an oxidizer (oxygen) must be present. Jet engines draw oxygen into
their engines from the surrounding air. Rockets carry oxygen with them into space, where there
is no air.
Solid rocket propellants, which are dry to the touch, contain both the fuel and oxidizer combined
together in the chemical itself. Usually the fuel is a mixture of hydrogen compounds and carbon
and the oxidizer is made up of oxygen compounds. Liquid propellants, which are often gases that
have been chilled until they turn into liquids, are kept in separate containers, one for the fuel and
the other for the oxidizer. Just before firing, the fuel and oxidizer are mixed together in the
engine. A solid-propellant rocket has the simplest form of engine. It has a nozzle, a case,
insulation, propellant, and an igniter. The case of the engine is usually a relatively thin metal that
is lined with insulation to keep the propellant from burning through. The propellant itself is
packed inside the insulation layer.
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This is a diagram of how a solid fuel rocket engine looks before and after ignition.
The solid fuel is in dark green, and then in orange as it is ignited to propel the rocket.

Many solid-propellant rocket engines feature a hollow core that runs through the propellant.
Rockets that do not have the hollow core must be ignited at the lower end of the propellants and
burning proceeds gradually from one end of the rocket to the other. In all cases, only the surface
of the propellant burns. However, to get higher thrust, the hollow core is used. This increases the
surface of the propellants available for burning. The propellants burn from the inside out at a
much higher rate, sending mass out the nozzle at a higher rate and speed. This results in greater
thrust. Some propellant cores are star shaped to increase the burning surface even more.
To ignite solid propellants, many kinds of igniters can be used. Fire-arrows were ignited by
fuses, but sometimes these ignited too quickly and burned the rocketeer. A far safer and more
reliable form of ignition used today is one that employs electricity. An electric current, coming
through wires from some distance away, heats up a special wire inside the rocket. The wire raises
the temperature of the propellant it is in contact with to the combustion point. Other igniters are
more advanced than the hot wire device. Some are encased in a chemical that ignites first, which
then ignites the propellants. Still other igniters, especially those for large rockets, are rocket
engines themselves. The small engine inside the hollow core blasts a stream of flames and hot
gas down from the top of the core and ignites the entire surface area of the propellants in a
fraction of a second.
The other main kind of rocket engine is one that uses liquid propellants, which may be either
pumped or fed into the engine by pressure. This is a much more complicated engine, as is
evidenced by the fact that solid rocket engines were used for at least seven hundred years before
the first successful liquid engine was tested. Liquid propellants have separate storage tanksone
for the fuel and one for the oxidizer. They also have a combustion chamber, and a nozzle.

The fuel of a liquid-propellant rocket is usually kerosene or liquid hydrogen; the oxidizer is
usually liquid oxygen. They are combined inside a cavity called the combustion chamber. Here
the propellants burn and build up high temperatures and pressures, and the expanding gas
escapes through the nozzle at the lower end. To get the most power from the propellants, they
must be mixed as completely as possible. Small injectors (nozzles) on the roof of the chamber
spray and mix the propellants at the same time. Because thechamber operates under high
pressures, the propellants need to be forced inside.
Modern liquid rockets use powerful, lightweight turbine pumps to take care of this job. With any
rocket, and especially with liquid propellant rockets, weight is an important factor. In general, the
heavier the rocket, the more the thrust needed to get it off the ground. Because of the pumps and
fuel lines, liquid engines are much heavier than solid engines. One especially good method of
reducing the weight of liquid engines is to make the exit cone ofthe nozzle out of very
lightweight metals. However, the extremely hot, fast-moving gases that pass through the cone
would quickly melt thin metal. Therefore, a cooling system is needed. A highly effective though
complex cooling system that is used with some liquid engines takes advantage of the low
temperature of liquid hydrogen. Hydrogen becomes a liquid when it is chilled to -253 oC. Before
injecting the hydrogen into the combustion chamber, it is first circulated through small tubes that
lace the walls of the exit cone. In a cutaway view, the exit cone wall looks like the edge of
corrugated cardboard. The hydrogen in the tubes absorbs the excess heat entering the cone walls
and prevents it from melting the walls away. It also makes the hydrogen more energetic because
of the heat it picks up. We call this kind of cooling system, regenerative cooling.

STAGING OF ROCKETS
There are a few factors that decide the performance of the rocket. Weight of the rocket is one
among them. More the rocket weight, higher the thrust required. Once the fuel and oxidizers are
consumed, the empty tanks are a burden for the rockets. It will be better if it can be discarded
from the rockets. To achieve this, the concept of multi-staging was introduced.
The main reasons for staging are;
1. To improve the performance by eliminating dead weight during powered flight.
2. To maintain acceleration within reasonable limits by reducing thrust in mid-flight.

The figure above illustrates how the staging is helpful to attain higher altitude.
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In multistage rockets, the first stage is at the bottom and is usually the largest, the second stage
and subsequent upper stages are above it, usually decreasing in size. In parallel staging schemes
solid or liquid rocket boosters are used to assist with lift-off. These are sometimes referred to as
'stage 0'. In the typical case, the first stage and booster engines fire to propel the entire rocket
upwards. When the boosters run out of fuel, they are detached from the rest of the rocket (usually
with some kind of small explosive charge) and fall away. The first stage then burns to completion
and falls off. This leaves a smaller rocket, with the second stage on the bottom, which then fires.
Known in rocketry circles as staging, this process is repeated until the final stage's motor burns
to completion. In some cases with serial staging, the upper stage ignites before the separationthe inter-stage ring is designed with this in mind, and the thrust is used to help positively separate
the two vehicles.

Figure illustrates a 2-stage and 3-stage rockets.

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Once the fuel is exhausted, the space and structure which contained it and the motors themselves
are useless and only add weight to the vehicle which slows down its future acceleration. By
dropping the stages which are no longer useful, the rocket lightens itself. The thrust of future
stages is able to provide more acceleration than if the earlier stage were still attached, or a single,
large rocket would be capable of. When a stage drops off, the rest of the rocket is still traveling
near the speed that the whole assembly reached at burn-out time. This means that it needs less
total fuel to reach a given velocity and/or altitude.
A further advantage is that each stage can use a different type of rocket motor each tuned for its
particular operating conditions. Thus the lower stage motors are designed for use at atmospheric
pressure, while the upper stages can use motors suited to near vacuum conditions. Lower stages
tend to require more structure than upper as they need to bear their own weight plus that of the
stages above them, optimizing the structure of each stage decreases the weight of the total
vehicle and provides further advantage.

ROCKET COMPONENTS AND NOZZLES

A typical rocket engine consists of the nozzle, the combustion chamber, and the injector. The
combustion chamber is where the burning of propellants takes place at high pressure. The
chamber must be strong enough to contain the high pressure generated by, and the high
temperature resulting from, the combustion process. Because of the high temperature and heat
transfer, the chamber and nozzle are usually cooled. The chamber must also be of sufficient
length to ensure complete combustion before the gases enter the nozzle.

The performance of rocket engines is highly dependent on the expansion nozzle. The function of
the nozzle is to convert the chemical-thermal energy generated in the combustion chamber into
kinetic energy. The nozzle converts the slow moving, high pressure, high temperature gas in the
combustion chamber into high velocity gas of lower pressure and temperature. Since thrust is the
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product of mass and velocity, a very high gas velocity is desirable. Nozzles consist of a
convergent and divergent section. The minimum flow area between the convergent and divergent
section is called the nozzle throat. The flow area at the end of the divergent section is called the
nozzle exit area. The nozzle is usually made long enough (or the exit area is great enough) such
that the pressure in the combustion chamber is reduced at the nozzle exit to the pressure existing
outside the nozzle.
There are three major types of nozzle used to date for the rocket propulsion. They are conical
nozzles, annular or plug nozzles and bell typed nozzles. Each one have their own significance in
the rocket propulsion according to their design and operation.

The conical nozzle was used often in early rocket applications because of its simplicity and ease
of construction. The cone gets its name from the fact that the walls diverge at a constant angle. A
small angle produces greater thrust, because it maximizes the axial component of exit velocity
and produces a high specific impulse (a measure of rocket efficiency). The penalty, however, is a
longer and heavier nozzle that is more complex to build. At the other extreme, size and weight
are minimized by a large nozzle wall angle. Unfortunately, large angles reduce performance at
low altitude because the high ambient pressure causes overexpansion and flow separation.
The annular nozzle, also sometimes known as the plug or "altitude-compensating" nozzle, is the
least employed of those discussed due to its greater complexity. The term "annular" refers to the
fact that combustion occurs along a ring, or annulus, around the base of the nozzle. "Plug" refers
to the center body that blocks the flow from what would be the center portion of a traditional

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nozzle. "Altitude-compensating" is sometimes used to describe these nozzles since that is their
primary advantage, a quality that will be further explored later.
Bell typed nozzles are the most commonly used nozzle currently for most of the rocket
applications. They are also called De Laval nozzle and CD nozzle. They have significant
advantages over the other type of nozzles, in terms of performance and size of the nozzle. It was
first developed by a Swedish inventor Gustaf de Laval in 1888 for use on a steam turbine and the
principle was first used in a rocket engine by Robert Goddard, an American physicist and rocket
pioneer in 1926.

Figure shows the variations in Pressure, Temperature and velocity of the flow across a De Laval nozzle

The operation of a de Laval nozzle relies on the flow properties of gas flowing at subsonic and
supersonic speeds. The speed of a subsonic flow of gas will increase as the area reduces, because
the mass flow rate is constant. The gas flow through the nozzle is isentropic and at subsonic flow
the gas is compressible. At the throat, where the cross sectional area is a minimum, the gas
velocity will reach Mach number equal to 1. The flow will be chocked. As the nozzle cross
sectional area increases the gas begins to expand and the gas flow increases to supersonic mach
number. The nozzle will chock at the throat only if the pressure and mass flow through the
nozzle is sufficient to reach sonic speeds, otherwise supersonic flow will not be reached at the
diverging section of the nozzle.
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When the pressure at the exit of the nozzle is equal to the ambient pressure (ie: Pe=Pa), the thrust
is maximum and the nozzle is said to be ideally expanded. When Pe is greater than Pa, the nozzle
is under-extended and when Pe is less than Pa, the nozzle is said to be over-expanded.

Nozzle expansion

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Over expansion: Pexit less than Patmosphere. This case often happens for a rocket at the time of liftoff. Because most launch pads are near sea level, the atmospheric pressure is at a maximum. This
atmospheric pressure can cause shock waves to form just inside the nozzle. These shock waves
represent areas where kinetic energy turns back into enthalpy (heat and pressure). In other words,
they reduce kinetic energy of the flow, lowering the exhaust velocity and thus decreasing the
overall thrust.
Under expansion: Pexit greater than Patmosphere. In this case, the flow is not expanded as much as
they could have within the nozzle and thus there is a loss in the sense that all the enthalpy is not
converted into velocity. This is the normal case for a rocket operating in a vacuum, because P e is
always higher than Pa (Pa is 0 in vacuum). Unfortunately, an infinitely long nozzle is needed to
expand the flow to zero pressure, so in practice there will be some loss in efficiency.
The total expansion in the nozzle always depends on its design. And this will depend on the
factor Area ratio Ae/Ath where Ae is the nozzle exit area and Ath is the nozzle throat area.

THRUST OF THE ROCKET

The "strength" of a rocket engine is called its thrust. Thrust is generated by the propulsion system
of the rocket through the application of Newton's third law of motion. Hot exhaust gases expand
in the diverging section of the nozzle. The nozzle is usually made long enough (or the exit area
great enough) such that the pressure in the combustion chamber is reduced at the nozzle exit to
the pressure existing outside the nozzle. It is under this condition that thrust is maximum and the
nozzle is said to be adapted, also called ideal or correct expansion. The magnitude of the thrust
can be determined by the general thrust equation.

F = m Ve + (Pe - Pa) Ae
where

F = Thrust
m = Propellant mass flow rate
Ve = Velocity of exhaust gases
Pe = Pressure at nozzle exit
Pa = Ambient pressure
Ae = Area of nozzle exit

The magnitude of the thrust depends on the mass flow rate of the working fluid through the
engine and the exit velocity and pressure of the working fluid. The efficiency of the propulsion
system is characterized by the specific impulse; the ratio of the amount of thrust produced to the
weight flow of the propellants.

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ANALYSIS OF DE LAVAL NOZZLE PERFORMANCE

ASSUMPTIONS:The analysis of gas flow through de Laval nozzles involves a number of concepts and
assumptions:
1. For simplicity, the gas is assumed to be an ideal gas.
2. The gas flow is isentropic (i.e., at constant entropy). As a result the flow is reversible
(frictionless and no dissipative losses), and adiabatic (i.e., there is no heat gained or lost).
3. The gas flow is constant (i.e., steady) during the period of the propellant burn.
4. The gas flow is along a straight line from gas inlet to exhaust gas exit (i.e., along the nozzle's
axis of symmetry).
5. The gas flow behaviour is compressible since the flow is at very high velocities.
METHODOLOGY:Let us consider a rocket system with a convergent divergent nozzle which is designed to operate
at an exit Mach number of 2.5. The Combustion chamber temperature (T 0) is 3000 K,
combustion chamber pressure (P0) is 855 KPa and the ambient pressure (P a) is 50 KPa. The
nozzle is designed with an exit area of 0.5 m2.
CALCULATION:Case 1:Assuming ideal expansion at the exit (no shock waves or expansion waves). This is a real design
case which should be achieved.

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For an exit Mach number of 2.5,

The temperature ratio, T0/T = 2.25

Therefore, the exit temperature, Te = 1333.33 K
The Area ratio (Ae/Ath) for the nozzle is 2.6367
Thus, as per the design, the throat area, Ath = 0.19 m2

The propellant mass flow rate through the system, m =

Pe
M RTeAe
R Te

ie; m = 119.55 Kg/s

The velocity of the gas, Ve =

M RTe

= 1829.84 m/s

Finally, we calculate the thrust,

F = m * Ve + (Pe Pa) * Ae
Since the ambient pressure and the exit pressure is equal (Pe = Pa), the thrust due to pressure
force will be zero. So, the total thrust will be equal to the momentum thrust.

ie; F = 119.55 * 1829.84 = 218.76 KN

Case 2:-

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Assuming the presence of a normal shock wave in the diverging portion of the nozzle where
As/Ath = 1.3
As/Ath = A1/A1* = 1.3
From the isentropic flow tables, we can find out that M1 = 1.66
P02/P01 = A1*/A2* = 0.872
Ie; P02 = 0.872 * 855= 745.56 KPa
Ae/A2* = Ae/Ath * Ath/A1* * A1*/A2*
= 2.64 * 1 * 0.872 = 2.30
For Ae/A2*=2.30, Exit mach number, Me = 0.262
Te/T0 = 0.986
Which implies, Te = 0.986 * 3000 = 2959.5 K
Also,
Pe/P02 = 0.9535
Which implies, Pe = 0.9535 * 745.56 = 710.89 KPa
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From these values, we can find out the velocity of the flow.
Velocity, Ve =

Me (RTe)

= 0.262 *

(1.42872959.5)

= 285.70 m/s
Now, we have obtained all the values required to find out the mass flow rate.

m=

Pe
M RTeAe
R Te

= 119.546 Kg/s

://The mass flow will remain constant.

Since we have the mass flow rate, we can now find out the thrust obtained.
Thrust, F = mVe + (Pe + Pa) * Ae
= 119.546 * 285.70 + (710.89 50) * 0.5
= 34.485 KN
This shows that the maximum thrust is obtained during an ideal expansion without any shock waves. The
presence of a shock wave inside the nozzle affects the nozzle performance and the thrust gets
considerably lower. In this case, the thrust reduced from 218.76 KN to 34.48 KN.
The percentage loss in thrust can be calculated by,
% loss = [(Fideal Fshock)/Fideal ] * 100= [(218.76 - 34.48)/218.76] * 100
= 84.2 %

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Practically, in a rocket nozzle with the given design, the presence of a shock becomes the prime reason for
the thrust to reduce by 84.2 % as compared to the ideal expansion case without a normal shock wave.
From this calculation, we can understand the power of a normal shock wave and its overall effect in the
performance. There are cases where a normal shock wave is advantageous, but in this example, it proves
that a normal shock wave inside the divergent section of a nozzle makes the flow subsonic and it affects
the thrust.

TRENDING DEVELOPMENTS IN ROCKET TECHNOLOGY

The year 2013 marked an incredible one for spaceflight, with space agencies around the world
making giant leaps in their own exploration of the solar system, while NASA welcomed the
addition of a new commercial cargo ship to its list of supplies for the International Space Station.
Also this year, Virgin Galactic and other private spaceflight companies made strides in their work
to make space tourist flights a reality, while one Canadian astronaut became a social media
mega-star by showing what life is truly like in space. Scientists are making progress on an
advanced space propulsion system aimed at a variety of uses, including reboosting space
stations, cleaning up space junk and powering superfast journeys that could reach Mars in less
than two months.
Led by former NASA astronaut Franklin Chang-Daz, Ad Astra Rocket Co. is developing the
versatile, high-tech engine, which is known as the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma
Rocket, or VASIMR for short. Engine work has been underway for more than 25 years, and is
based on NASA and U.S. Department of Energy research and development in plasma physics
and space propulsion technology. Commercializing the VASIMR electric propulsion engine is the
flagship project of Ad Astra, which has been in business for nine years and has invested $30
million to date to mature the concept.
VASIMR heats plasma an electrically charged gas to extreme temperatures using radio
waves. Strong magnetic fields then funnel this plasma out the back of the engine, creating thrust.
The most advanced VASIMR engine is Ad Astra's 200-kilowatt VX-200.
The Falcon Heavy is a new rocket being developed by SpaceX Space Exploration
Technologies Corporation one of two private companies that NASA has contracted to transport
cargo to the International Space Station.
Designed to lift satellites or spacecraft into orbit weighing more than 53 tons, or 117,000 pounds,
it has over twice the capacity of the Space Shuttle and Delta IV Heavy launcher. At full power,

18

its thrust is equivalent to fifteen 747's. This makes it the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V
which took astronauts to the Moon.
Expansion deflection nozzle
The expansion-deflection nozzle is an advanced rocket nozzle which achieves altitude
compensation through interaction of the exhaust gas with the atmosphere, much like
the plug and aerospike nozzles. It appears much like a standard bell nozzle, but at the throat is a
'centrebody' or 'pintle' which deflects the flow towards the walls. The exhaust gas flows past this
in a more outward direction than in standard bell nozzles while expanding before being turned
towards the exit. This allows for shorter nozzles than the standard design whilst maintaining
nozzle expansion ratios. Because of the atmospheric boundary, the atmospheric pressure affects
the exit area ratio so that atmospheric compensation can be obtained up to the geometric
maximum allowed by the specific nozzle.
The nozzle operates in two distinct modes: open and closed. In closed wake mode, the exhaust
gas fills the entire nozzle exit area. The ambient pressure at which the wake changes from open
to closed modes is called the design pressure. If the ambient pressure reduces any further,
additional expansion will occur outside the nozzle much like a standard bell nozzle and no
altitude compensation effect will be gained. In open wake mode, the exit area is dependent on the
ambient pressure and the exhaust gas exits the nozzle as an annulus as it does not fill the entire
nozzle. Because the ambient pressure controls the exit area, the area ratio should be perfectly
compensating to the altitude up to the design pressure.
Like the aerospike and plug nozzles, if modular combustion chambers were used in place of a
single combustion chamber, then thrust vectoring would be achievable by throttling the flow to
various chambers.
The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle was originally part of NASA's Constellation
Program which was cancelled in 2010. However, the design was carried forward as the Orion
Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (Orion MPCV), as part of NASA's new plans for manned
exploration to the Moon, Mars and asteroids. The first test flight is in 2014. For this particular
mission, the capsule is unmanned. Nevertheless, it reaches a higher altitude than any spacecraft
intended for human use since 1973. Orion makes two highly elliptical orbits of the Earth, before
re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. This test supports the
development of the Space Launch System a new dedicated rocket, which itself will be tested in
2017. The first manned flight of Orion will occur in the 2020s, depending on Nasa's future
funding.
Even now, Rockets remain a popular military weapon. The use of large battlefield rockets of the
V-2 type has given way to guided missiles. However rockets are often used by helicopters and
light aircraft for ground attack, being more powerful than machine guns, but without the recoil of
a heavy cannon and by the early 1960s air-to-air missiles became favored. Shoulder-launched
rocket weapons are widespread in the anti-tank role due to their simplicity, low cost, light
weight, accuracy and high level of damage. Current artillery systems such as the MLRS or BM30 Smerch launch multiple rockets to saturate battlefield targets with munitions.
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Commercially, rocketry is the enabler of all space technologies particularly satellites, many of
which impact people's everyday lives in almost countless ways. Scientifically, rocketry has
opened a window on the universe, allowing the launch of space probes to explore the solar
system and space-based telescopes to obtain a clearer view of the rest of the universe. However,
it is probably manned spaceflight that has predominantly caught the imagination of the public.
Vehicles such as the Space Shuttle for scientific research, the Soyuz increasingly for orbital
tourism and SpaceShipOne for suborbital tourism may show a trend towards greater
commercialisation of manned rocketry.

CONCLUSION
Thrust is what pushes the rocket forward. So, maximum thrust means maximum efficiency. From
the study we conducted, we understood that the ideal rocket engine without any shocks in its
nozzle produced a thrust of 218.76 KN. But the same nozzle, with a normal shock in the
diverging section of its nozzle produced only 34.49 KN. The presence of a normal shock created
a loss of 84.2 % in its overall thrust. This shows the strength of a normal shock when a
supersonic flow is incident on it. The normal shock slashed down the Mach number of the flow
from 2.3 to 0.262. This reduced the resultant thrust.
From the analysis we conducted, we can conclude that the presence of a normal shockwave
affects the resultant thrust of the rocket engine. This is one of the design conditions when
constructing a rocket engine. The future of rocket engines aims at maximum thrust and minimum
weight. And finally, the efficiency is calculated based on the velocity of the flow coming out of
the nozzle.

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BIBLOGRAPHY
1. Humble, R. J., Gary, H. N., and Larson, W. J. 1995. Space Propulsion Analysis and
Design.
2. Gregory Vogt, Carla B. Rosenberg, Deborah A. Shearer, published by NASA. Rockets: an
educator's guide with activities in science, mathematics, and technology.
3. A.Bowdoin Van Riper., Greenwood press 2004. Rockets & Missiles: The life story of a
technology.

4. Multistage rockets, Valkyrie report No: 5105. Vashon Industries Inc.

5. www.braeunig.us/space/
6. www.aerospaceweb.org/design
7. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Laval_nozzle
8. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multistage_rocket
9. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockets
10. www.geaviation.com
11. www.inventors.about.com
12. http://history.msfc.nasa.gov.html
13. www.howstuffworks.com/rocket.htm/

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