AIAA- 91 -2050

Launch Vehicle Performance Using

Metal I ked Pro pe I Ian ts
Bryan Palaszewski
NASA Lewis Research Center
Cleveland, OH
Richard Powell
NASA Langley Research Center
Hampton, VA
AI AA/S AE/ASM E/ASEE
27th Joint Propulsion Conference
J une 24-27,1991 / Sacramento, CA
For permission to copy or republish, contact the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
370 LEnfant Promenade, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024
LAUNCH VEHI CLE PERFORMANCE USI NG METALLI ZED PROPELLANTS
Br yan Pal aszewski *, "
Nat i onal Aer onaut i cs and Space Admi ni st r at i on
Lewi s Resear ch- Cent er
Cl evel and, OH
and
Ri char d Powel l **
Nat i onal Aer onaut i cs and Space Admi ni st r at i on
Langl ey Resear ch Cent er
Hampt on, VA
Abst r act A- 50 Aer ozi ne- 50
Met al l i zed pr opel l ant pr opul si on syst ems ar e
consi der ed as r epl acement s f or t he sol i d
r ocket boost er s and l i qui d sust ai ner st ages
on t he cur r ent l aunch vehi cl es: bot h t he
Space Tr anspor t at i on Syst em ( STS) and t he
r . Ti t an I V. Li qui d Rocket Boost er s f or t he STS
N wer e anal yzed as r epl acement s f or t he
cur r ent Sol i d Rocket Boost er s. These
boost er s can pr ovi de a l i qui d pr opul si on
syst emwi t hi n t he vol ume const r ai nt s of a
Sol i d Rocket Boost er . A r epl acement f or t he
Space Shut t l e Mai n Engi nes usi ng met al l i zed
02/ H, / A1 was st udi ed. The l i qui d st ages of
t he Ti t an I V wer e al so i nvest i gat ed: t he A-
5 0 f uel was r epl aced wi t h met al l i zed
st or abl e A- 50/ A1.
A met al l i zed pr opel l ant i s si mi l ar t o a
t r adi t i onal l i qui d pr opel l ant . However , i t
has met al par t i cl es, such as al umi num, t hat
ar e suspended i n a gel l ed f uel , such as
hydr ogen, RP- 1, Aer ozi ne- 50 ( A- 50) or
monomet hvl hvdr azi ne f MMHl . The f uel s t hen
m
ID
w
-
. .
under yo Acomh; st i on wi t h 1 , q u i d oxygen or
ni t r ogen t r t r oxi de (PI TO).
ET
GLOW
H,
1 6 ,
LRB
MECO
ML
MPS
NTO
MMH
NLS
0,
OMS
Ext er nal Tank
Gr oss Li f t Of f Wei ght
Hydr ogen
Speci f i c I mpul se (l b, - s/ l bm)
Li qui d Rocket Boost er
Mai n Engi ne Cut Of f
Met al Loadi ng
Mai n Pr opul si on Subsyst em
Ni t r ogen Tet r oxi de
Monomet hyl Hydr azi ne
Nat i onal Launch Syst em
Oxygen
Or bi t al Maneuver i ng Subsyst em
These pr opel l ant s pr ovi de opt i ons f or RP- 1 Rocket Pr opel l ant - 1
i ncr easi ng t he per f or mance of exi st i ng
l aunch vehi cl e chemi cal pr opul si on syst ems SRB Sol i d Rocket Boost er
by i ncr easi ng f uel densi t y or speci f i c
i mpul se ( Ies) , or bot h. These i ncr eases i n SRM Sol i d Rocket Mot or
densi t y and I,, can si gni f i cant l y r educe t he
pr opul si on syst eml i f t of f wei ght and al l ow SSME Space Shut t l e Mai n Engi nes
a l i uui d r ocket boost er t o f i t i nt o t he same
vol ume as an exi st i ng sol i d r ocket boost er .
Al so, because gel l ed f uel s ar e aki n t o
l i qui d pr opel l ant s, met al l i zed syst ems can STS- C Space Tr anspor t at i on Syst em- Car go
STS Space Tr anspor t at i on syst em
nr ovi de enhanced cont r ol l abi l i t v over sol i d
pr opul si on syst ems. Gel l i ni of t he VAB Vehi cl e Assembl y Bui l di ng
pr opel l ant al so r educes t he sensi t i vi t y t o
i mpact s and consequent l y r educes t he AV Vel oci t y Change ( m/ s)
pr opel l ant expl osi on hazar d
Nomencl at ur e
ALS Advanced Launch syst em
A1 Al umi num
* Pr ogr amManager , ' Met al l i zed Pr opel l ant
Pr ogr am
** AI AA Member
Copyiigln 0 1991 by the Aiiierican lnrfiiurc of Aeronautics
and Awon;>utics. lnc. NO copyright is ~sr ened io the
Uailed Si nl ei iintlcr Title 17, U.S. Code. Thc U. S. Govcrn~
i i i ent has P r oyol i y~f r ee l i cenv 10 cxcrci w all right% under
thc copyright claimed herein for Covei nmeni d piirposec.
AI! olhcr righli are reserved by the copyright ~wl i er .
I nt r oduct i on
Fut ur e l aunch vehi cl es wi l l del i ver
i ncr easi ngl y l ar ger and mor e massi ve
payl oads t o or bi t . Exi st i ng l aunch vehi cl es
1
wi l l r equi r e cont i nui ng upgr ades i n
per f or mance t o accommodat e t he i ncr easi ng
payl oad needs of NASA mi ssi ons. Commer ci al
l aunch vehi cl e manuf act ur er s ar e l ooki na t o
i ncr ease t he payl oad capabi l i t y of t 6ei r
f ut ur e desi gns ( Ref s. 1 and 2) . The NASA and
Ai r For ce pl ans f or t he Nat i onal Launch
Syst em ( NLi ) , t he Advanced Launch Syst em
( ALS) and t he Space Tr anspor t at i on Syst em-
Car go ( STS- C) demand payl oads t o or bi t equal
t o or exceedi ng 68, 000 kg. ( Ref s. 3 and 4 ) .
These payl oads woul d be r equi r ed f or l ar ge
pi l ot ed l unar base f l i ght s and Mar s
expl or at i on mi ssi ons ( Ref . 5) as wel l as f or
some aspect s of t he pr oposed St r at egi c
Def ense I ni t i at i ve oper at i ons ( Ref . 6).
As payl oad masses i ncr ease, t he pr opel l ant
needed f or t he l aunch vehi cl e al so r i ses.
The l ar ger pr opel l ant l oads l ead t o l ar ger
and l ar ger st age l engt hs and vol umes. To
del i ver hi gher payl oad masses t o or bi t ,
hi gher per f or mance and hi gher I,, r ocket
engi nes wi l l be r equi r ed. Al so, t o mai nt ai n
t hese vehi cl es di mensi ons wi t hi n r easonabl e
si zes and t o r educe t he vol ume of t he
vehi cl e s st ages, hi gher densi t y pr opel l ant s
wi l l be desi r abl e.
The ur ooul si on t echnol oai es t hat ar e
avai l abl e t o meet t hese pe; f ormance and/ or
vol ume demands ar e many and var i ed: l i qui d,
sol i d and hybr i d pr opul si on ar e t he pr i mar y
al t er nat i ves f or l aunch vehi cl es. For
exampl e, t he Advanced Sol i d Rocket Mot or
(ASRM) i s under consi der at i on f or enhanci ng
t he STS ( Ref . 7). Sol i ds and hybr i ds ar e t wo
of t he t echnol ogi es f or i ncr easi ng
pr opel l ant densi t y. Thei r del i ver ed speci f i c
i mpul se i s t ypi cal l y not as hi gh as a l i qui d
pr opul si on al t er nat i ve. Wi t h advanced l i qui d
pr opul si on, many di f f er ent t ypes of
pr opel l ant s can be devel oped t o i ncr ease
per f or mance.
Pot ent i al l y, one of t he most - at t r act i ve
l i qui d pr opel l ant opt i ons i s met al l i zed
pr opel l ant s. Met al l i zed pr opel l ant s can
del i ver hi gh I,, or hi gh f uel densi t y, or
bot h. I n t he succeedi ng sect i ons some of t he
desi gn f eat ur es and at t r i but es of met al l i zed
pr opel l ant s wi l l be di scussed and anal yzed.
Li qui d Rocket Boost er s ( LRB) f or t he STS
wer e anal yzed as r epl acement s f or t he
cur r ent Sol i d Rocket Boost er s ( SRB) . A
r epl acement f or t he Space Shut t l e Mai n
Engi nes usi ng met al l i zed 02/i , /A1 was al so
st udi ed. The l i qui d st ages of t he Ti t an I V
wer e al so i nvest i gat ed; t he A- 50 f uel was
r epl aced wi t h met al l i zed st or abl e A- 50/ A1.
Summar y of Resul t s
Wi t h t he STS Li qui d Rocket Boost er s,
met al l i zed 02/ RP- 1/ Al and NTO/ MMH/ Al ar e
abl e t o pr ovi de an LRB t hat i s shor t er t han
t he exi st i ng SRB. Even when i ncl udi ng t he
pot ent i al l osses caused by t wo- phase f l ow
l osses i n engi ne anal ysi s, t he met al l i zed
LRB i s abl e t o del i ver t he basel i ne STS
payl oad of 22, 527 kq ( 49, 664 l bm). I f t he
t wo- phase f l owl osses ar e mi ni mi zed, t he STS
payl oad may be i ncr eased t o 25, 674 kq
1 5 6 . 6 0 0 ka\ wi t h O, / RP- l / Al . A Davl oad of
1 - - 1 - - -->, -
30, 482 kq ( 67, 200 lb,) i c pr oj ect hi usi ng a
met al l i zed NTO/ MMH/ Al LRB. The vol ume of an
LRB or an Ext er nal Tank usi ng 02/ Hz/ A1 wer e
much l ar ger t han t he exi st i ng SRB and
Ext er nal Tank vol ume. The Ti t an IV payl oad
( wi t h no upper st age) was i ncr eased by 11. 2 w
t o 11. 6 per cent over t he exi st i ng desi gn.
Thi s Ti t an used NTO/ A- 5O/ Al pr opel l ant s onl y
i n t he cor e vehi cl e.
Backar ound
Why Met al l i zed Pr opel l ant s?
One advanced pr opul si on opt i on t hat can
pr ovi de benef i t s f or Ear t h t o Or bi t vehi cl es
uses met al l i zed pr opel l ant s. These
pr opel l ant s of f er i ncr eases i n t he over al l
pr opel l ant densi t y and/ or t he I,, of a
pr opul si on syst em. These i ncr eases can
enabl e si gni f i cant l aunch mass r educt i ons or
pavl oad i ncr eases over convent i onal chemi cal
pr bpel l ant s. Met al 1 i zed pr opel l ant s ar e
pr opel l ant s wi t h met al added t o t he f uel or
t he oxi di zer . Typi cal l y, t he met al i s i n t he
f or m of mi cr on- si zed par t i cl es. They ar e
suspended i n a gel l ed pr opel l ant t o i ncr ease
i t s combust i on ener gy or i t s densi t y, or
bot h. The I., of an engi ne i s pr opor t i onal
to:
I., i (T / MW)
wher e:
T Combust i on Temper at ur e
Mw Mol ecul ar Wei ght of Combust i on L/
A comhi nat i on of i ncr eased combust i on
t emper at ur e, or r educt i ons i n t he mol ecul ar
wei ght of t he exhaust pr oduct s, or bot h,
i ncr eases t he I,, of t he pr opul si on syst em.
I ncr eased I,, r educes t he pr opel l ant r equi r ed
f or a gi ven mi ssi on. The i ncr eases i n
pr opel l ant densi t y al so r educe t he t ankage
vol ume and mass. Because many of t he
pr opul si on syst emel ement s ar e dependent , on
t he pr opel l ant mass and vol ume, i ncr easi ng
t he pr opel l ant densi t y decr eases component
and t ankage wei ght s, t hus al l owi ng l ar ge
r educt i ons i n t he over al l dr y mass.
To i ncr ease t he payl oad capabi l i t y of
exi st i ng l aunch vehi cl es and t hei r upper
st ages, hi gher I,, syst ems or hi gher densi t y
pr opel l ant s, or bot h, wi l l be needed.
Pr evi ous st udi es of Mar s and l unar mi ssi ons
( Ref s. E, 9 and lo), t he STS LRBs ( Ref . 11
and 12) and STS and STS- C upper st ages ( Ref .
1 3 ) have det er mi ned t hat met al l i zed
pr opel l ant s ar e an at t r act i ve al t er nat i ve t o
t r adi t i onal pr opel l ant s f or f ut ur e space
t r anspor t at i on syst ems.
Li aui d Rocket Boast er s
Two st udi es have been conduct ed t o det er mi ne
t he benef i t s of LRBs ( Ref s. 11 and 12) over
t he cur r ent SRB f or t he Space Tr anspor t at i on
Syst em (STS). Ther e ar e sever al i mpor t ant d
f eat ur es of an LRB. These i ncl ude added
Pr oduct s
payl oad t o or bi t , t hr ust cont r ol l abi l i t y,
l aunch vehi cl e i n- f l i ght saf et y and l aunch
oper at i ons saf et y.
I n t he LRB st udi es. a Davl oad of UD t o
L .-
31, 979 kg ( 70, 500 l bi ) was desi r ed. Thf s i s
- a si zabl e bol st er i ng of t he STS over t he
cur r ent capabi l i t y of 22, 680 t o 24, 948 kg
( 50, 000 t o 55, 000 lb., Ref . 15). Such a
Davl oad aai n can be a or eat benef i t f or
>ukur e SGace St at i on f i i ght s and f ut ur e
expl or at i on mi ssi on suppor t . The LRB can
al so pr ovi de a cont r ol l abl e and var i abl e
t hr ust l evel . Thi s cont r ol i ncr eases mi ssi on
f l exi bi l i t y. Dur i ng t he ascent t o or bi t , t he
abi l i t y t o cont r ol t he t hr ust l evel of a
boost er st age i s i mpor t ant f or saf et y. I f a
pr obl emwer e t o occur wi t h a r ocket engi ne,
t he engi ne coul d be t hr ot t l ed down t o
mi ni mi ze t he danger t o t he l aunch vehi cl e
and t he cr ew. An LRB can al so be commanded
t o t er mi nat e i t s f i r i ng i f a pr obl emar ose
dur i ng t he l aunch: t hi s opt i on i s not
avai l abl e wi t h t he SRB.
I n addi t i on t o t he saf et y of t he vehi cl e and
t he f l i ght cr ewdur i ng l aunch, t he saf et y of
t he l aunch f aci l i t i es i s al so cr i t i cal .
cur r ent l y, t he segment s of t he sol i d r ocket
mot or s ar e assembl ed i n t he Vehi cl e Assembl y
Bui l di ng ( VAB) . Thi s pr ocedur e i nt r oduces a
pot ent i al hazar d i n t he assembl y of t he STS
har dwar e. By usi ng an LRB, pot ent i al l y
hazar dous f uel s ar e t aken out of t he VAB and
kept near t he l aunch pad. Wi t h NTO/ MMH/ Al
pr opel l ant s, t he pr ocessi ng at t he pad may
r equi r e addi t i onal consi der at i on due t o i t s
t oxi ci t y over 02/ RP- 1/ A1 and 02/ H, / A1.
Wi t h met al l i zed pr opel l ant s, t her e i s an
added saf et y advant age i n handl i ng. Because
t he f uel i s gel l ed, i t pr event s wi despr ead
spi l l age i f i t wer e r el eased f r om t he
pr opel l ant t ank ( Ref . 14) . Cl eanup of t he
spi l l i s easi er because t he spi l l i s
r est r i ct ed t o a mor e conf i ned ar ea. Thi s i s
par t i cul ar l y t r ue of st or abl e met al l i zed
f uel s. Al so, t he gel makes t he pr opel l ant s
l ess sensi t i ve t o hi gh- ener gy par t i cl es t hat
penet r at e t he pr opel l ant t ank ( Ref . 14). I f
a pr oj ect i l e penet r at es t he t ank ( such as a
wr ench dr opped dur i ng gr ound assembl y,
mi cr omet eor oi ds, space debr i s, et c. ) , t he
gel l ed pr opel l ant wi l l pr event a
cat ast r ophi c expl osi on.
Bot h LRB st udi es al so gave some pr el i mi nar y
consi der at i on t o met al l i zed pr opul si on
syst ems f or t he LRB. The boost er desi gns
used NTO/ MMH/ Al and 02/ RP- l / Al . Of al l of
t he LRB t ypes st udi ed, t he met al l i zed
boost er s wer e abl e t o f i t most cl osel y
wi t hi n t he exi st i ng Sol i d Rocket Boost er
( SRB) di mensi ons. Thi s al l ows LRBs t o be
consi der ed f or t he cur r ent STS wi t h mi ni mal
changes t o t he exi st i ng l aunch f aci l i t i es.
St r i ct geomet r i c const r ai nt s ar e i mposed by
t he cur r ent STS l aunch f aci l i t i es. I f t he
boost er s have di mensi ons whi ch ar e ot her
t han t hat of t he cur r ent SRB, si gni f i cant
al t er at i ons may have t o be made t o many
l aunch f aci l i t i es, i ncl udi ng t he Mobi l e
- Launch Pl at f or m, t he l aunch pad' s f l ame
t r ench and t he access pl at f or ms on t he
...
Rot at i ng and t he Fi xed Ser vi ce St r uct ur es of
Launch Compl ex 39 A and B. I nt r oduci ng a new
pr opul si on t echnol ogy wi l l be mor e- easi l y
ef f ect ed i f t he changes t o t he exi st i ng
l aunch syst ems and f aci l i t i es ar e mi ni mal .
I n t hi s st udy, t he STS and Ti t an I v l aunch
vehi cl e desi gns wer e st udi ed i n how t hey
coul d accommodat e met al l i zed pr opel l ant s.
For t he STS, t he SRBs wer e r epl aced wi t h
LRBs usi ng met al l i zed f uel s: RP- l / Al , W/ A1
and HJ Al . Al so i nvest i gat ed wer e an
Ext er nal Tank ( ET) and Space Shut t l e Mai n
Engi nes ( SSME) t hat used met al l i zed H,!Al
f uel . The Ti t an l aunch vehi cl e was modi f i ed
so t hat t he l i qui d- f uel ed cor e used
met al l i zed A- 50/ Al .
To est abl i sh t he benef i t s of met al l i zed
pr opel l ant f or l aunch vehi cl es, t he mi ssi ons
and pr opul si on syst em desi gns must be
consi der ed t oget her and anal yzed. The
succeedi ng sect i ons wi l l di scuss t hese
aspect s and t he r esul t s of t he over al l
syst ems anal ysi s.
Pr opul si on Syst ems Anal yses
I n det er mi ni ng t he pot ent i al per f or mance
advant aaes of met al l i zed Dr ooel l ant s. a
ser i es 6f t r adc st udi es cere' per f or med.
These st udi es used t he l aunch mass and/ or
vol ume const r ai nt s of a ser i es of STS and
Ti t an l aunch vehi cl e opt i ons t o def i ne t he
capabi l i t y of f ut ur e vehi cl e desi gns. Af t er
det er mi ni ng t he l aunch vehi cl e const r ai nt s
and f or mul at i ng t he mi ssi ons and gener i c
desi gns of t hei r boost er s and st ages, t hese
el ement s can be f ol ded t oget her t o f i nd t he
per f or mance of t he t ot al vehi cl e f or t he
var yi ng mi ssi on r equi r ement s.
I n t he anal yses pr esent ed her e, sever al
f i gur es of mer i t ar e consi der ed. These ar e
t he payl oad del i ver y mass t o an Ear t h or bi t ,
t he l engt h and di amet er of t he vehi cl e and
t he Gr oss Li f t Of f Wei ght ( GLOW) .
To comput e t he f i gur es of mer i t , t he r ocket
equat i on was used:
AV = I,, 9 I n (m,/m,)
wher e:
AV Vel oci t y Change
16P Speci f i c I mpul se
9 Gr avi t at i onal Accel er at i on
m, I ni t i al Mass
m, Fi nal Mass
Two di f f er ent met hods of anal ysi s wer e used
t o anal yze t he STS and t he Ti t an I V. The
r ocket equat i on was used f or t he STS
anal ysi s and f or t he Ti t an I V, a t r aj ect or y
anal ysi s code was used. Fact or i ng i n t he
l aunch vehi cl e const r ai nt s, t he engi ne
per f or mance and t he l aunch vehi cl e st age
mass- scal i ng equat i ons, t he si ze of t he
boost er s and st ages f or var i ous payl oads can
be cal cul at ed. I n t he f ol l owi ng sect i ons,
t he const r ai nt s on t he l aunch vehi cl e For t he STS LRBs, bot h Pump- and Pr essur e-
desi gns ar e di scussed. f ed boost er s wer e anal yzed. Al l of t he
r emai ni ng engi ne desi gns f or t he STS SSME
and Ti t an st ages' engi nes ar e pump- f ed. Some
Launch Vehi cl e Desi un Const r ai nt s
of t he desi gn par amet er s f or t he engi nes W
LRB st udi es'
Pr ODUl Si On SVSt emDesi un
I n t he anal yses of t he STS per f omance, t he
wer e gui ded by t he r esul t s of t he pr evi ous
Ul vsses l aunch mi ssi on oar amet er s wer e used
as- a gui de ( Ref . 15). - The ul ysses mi ssi on
i s a unmanned spacecr af t t hat wi l l expl or e
out si de of t he ecl i pt i c pl ane of t he Sol ar
syst em. I t was l aunched t owar d J upi t er wi t h
a t wo- st age I US and an addi t i onal Payl oad
Assi st Modul e ( PAM) upper st age depl oyed
f r omt he STS. Thi s mi ssi on i s t he heavi est
STS payl oad t o dat e. The STS vehi cl e has t wo
l ar ge SRBs f l anki ng t he combi ned Ext er nal
Tank ( ET) and Or bi t er . The vehi cl e and
Dr oDel l ant masses of t he basel i ne STS
~~ L ~~~~~~
mi ssi on ar e l i st ed i n Tabl e I . The~ t ot al
payl oad mass del i ver ed t o or bi t was 22, 527
kg ( 49, 664 l bm) . Thi s mass i ncl udes 20, 873
kg ( 46, 017 lb.) of payl oad and 1, 654 kg
13. 647 lb.! of Manaaer ' s Reser ves ( or
payl oad coi t i ngency. RLf . 15) . The l engt h
and di amet er of t he SRB ar e 149 f t and 12. 2
f t , r espect i vel y ( Ref . 16). For t he ET, t he
l engt h and di amet er ar e 153. 8 f t and 27. 6
f t , r espect i vel y. To use met al l i zed
pr opel l ant s, t he ET desi gn must be modi f i ed.
The ET uses t he oxygen t ank as par t of t he
nose sect i on. Because of t he aer odynami c
shapi ng of t he oxygen t ank, t he ET wi t h
met al l i zed pr opel l ant s was compar ed t o t he
exi st i ng ET based on vol ume of t he new
met al l i zed pr opel l ant t ank r at her t han t he
l engt h of t he t ank. The t ot al vol ume of t he
exi st i ng ET i s 2069 m3 ( 73, 081 f t3).
The basel i ne payl oad t o or bi t f or t he Ti t an
I V i s 14, 643 kg ( 32, 282 l bm) . The Ti t an i s
composed of t wo l ar ge sol i d r ocket boost er s
f or t he i ni t i al l i f t of f ( St age 0), a cor e
vehi cl e wi t h t wo boost er st ages ( St ages 1
and 2) and no addi t i onal upper st age. The
cor e and t he boost er s ar e 3. 05 m ( 10 f t ) i n
di amet er . The St age 1 t ankage vol ume i s
129. 7 m3 ( 4, 581. 7 f t 3) and t he vol ume of
St age 2 i s 29. 4 m3 ( 1037. 3 ft'). Met al l i zed
pr opel l ant s wer e onl y i nvest i gat ed f or t he
r epl acement of t he cor e vehi cl e pr opel l ant s.
Tabl e I
Basel i ne STS Mass summar y
Subsyst em Mass ( kg)
Payl oad 22, 527. 4
Or bi t er 93 - 762. 2
Ext er nal Tank
ET OJH, Pr oDel l ant
Wi t h Resi dual s 36, 050. 1
719, 539. 1
Two sREi s Pl i s Non- Pr opul si ve
Losses 171, 397. 5
SRB Pr opel l ant 1, 008. 892. 0
Tot al 2, 052, 168. 3
Enqi ne- Per f or mam. Usi ng a compuccr
si mul at i on code ( Ref . 17) , t he engi ne
per f or mance of t he met al l i zed pr opel l ant
combi nat i ons was est i mat ed. The pr opel l ant s
wer e pr ovi ded t o t he combust i on chamber i n
t he l i qui d st at e. A di f f er ent E was chosen
f or t he pump- and pr essur e- f ed engi nes. A
f i xed ar ea was avai l abl e at t he base of t he
LRB. The chamber pr essur e of t he pump- f ed
engi ne al l owed f our engi nes, each wi t h a
30: l expansi on r at i o nozzl e t o f i t wi t hi n
t he LRB base ar ea. The engi ne chamber
pr essur e was 1000 psi a. For t he pr essur e- f ed
boost er s, t he 350- psi a chamber pr essur e
al l owed an E of onl y 7: l t o f i t wi t hi n t he
ar ea at t he base of t he LRB. As wi t h t he
pump- f ed LRB, f our engi nes wer e used. These
chamber pr essur es wer e sel ect ed based upon
t he desi gns of t he var i ous engi nes under
consi der at i on f or f ut ur e l aunch vehi cl es
( Ref s. 11 and 12). The SSME wi t h met al l i zed
pr opel l ant s had a 3000- psi a chamber pr essur e
and a 77. 5: l expansi on r at i o. These val ues
ar e t he desi gn poi nt of t he SSME. Wi t h t he
Ti t an I V engi nes, t he met al l i zed engi nes
used t he same engi ne E and chamber pr essur e
as t he cur r ent Ti t an desi gns: 15: l and 857
psi a f or St age 1 and 49. 2: l and 860 psi a f or
t he second st age.
Tabl e I 1 cont r ast s t he pr edi ct ed per f or mance
of sever al pr opul si on syst ems wi t h and
Tabl e 11
Non- Met al l i zed and Met al l i zed
Engi ne Per f or mance
Vehi cl e and Is, I sp Ef f i ci ency
Pr opel l ant (l bt- s/ lb,) (11)
No Met al Met al *
STS: Boost er Opt i ons - Pump- Fed:
SRB 265. 5 n/ a
n/ a
O, / RP- l 324. 5 317. 3 0.920
NTO/ MMH 307. 7 318. 9 0. 920
OJH, 410. 2 419. 0 0. 940
Pr essur e- Fed:
O, / RP- l 289. 4 284. 8 0. 920
NTO/ MMH 280. 4 278. 3 0. 920
Mai n Pr opul si on Opt i ons -
Oz/% 452. 66 460. 6 0. 974
Ti t an I v:
St aae 1 oot i ons -
NTOj A- 50 301. 0 310. 2 0. 914
St age 2 Opt i ons -
NTO/ A- 50 316. 0 330. 0 0. 906
v
W'
* Al umi numi s added t o t he f uel
4
wi t hout met al l i zed f uel . The i ncr eases i n I,,
ar e t ypi cal l y sever al l b, -s/l b, . An engi ne I.,
ef f i ci ency ( q ) was used t o modi f y t he code-
pr edi ct ed I sp. The Tabl e I 1 I , , , val ues have
i ncl uded i n t hemt he q . The 1) i s t he r at i o
of t he engi ne per f or mance shown i n Tabl e 11
and t he code- pr edi ct ed I sp. The r educt i on due
t o 11 r ef l ect s t he l osses f r omt he nozzl e
boundar y l ayer , engi ne cycl e i nef f i ci enci es
and ot her pr opul si on syst em l osses. The
engi ne ef f i ci enci es wer e der i ved usi ng t he
per f or mance est i mat es f r om l i qui d engi ne
syst ems ( Ref er ences 18 t hr ough 21) and
compar i sons wi t h t he vacuumISp pr edi ct ed by
t he engi ne code. I n t hi s anal ysi s,
met al l i zed pr opel l ant s wer e gi ven t he same
engi ne ef f i ci ency as t he non- met al l i zed
syst ems. Ther e ar e addi t i onal l osses t hat
have not been i ncl uded i n t hi s anal ysi s t hat
may pot ent i al l y penal i ze t he met al l i zed
pr opel l ant cases, such as t wo- phase f l ow
l osses i n t he exhaust and t he nozzl e
boundar y l ayer , and nozzl e er osi on.
Numer i cal model l i ng, pr opel l ant r heol ogy
exper i ment s and hot - f i r e engi ne t est i ng have
been conduct ed t o det er mi ne t he pot ent i al
engi ne ef f i ci ency of met al l i zed pr opel l ant s
( Ref s. 22 t hr ough 26). The ef f ect of l ower
t han pr edi ct ed I,, ef f i ci ency wi l l be
di scussed l at er i n t he paper .
The mi xt ur e r at i os and t he met al l oadi ng f or
t hese pr opul si on desi gns ar e gi ven i n Tabl e
111. The met al l oadi ng r epr esent s t he
f r act i on ( by mass) of al umi numi n t he t ot al
mass of t he f uel . The mi xt ur e r at i o i s
def i ned as i t i s f or t r adi t i onal chemi cal
pr opul si on: t he r at i o of t he t ot al oxi di zer
mass t o t he t ot al f uel mass. I n sel ect i ng
t he "best " met al l i zed syst em desi gn, t he
pr opel l ant met al l oadi ng, i t s ef f ect s on t he
engi ne I,, and t he pr opul si on syst emdr y mass
Tabl e I 11
Rocket Engi ne Met al Loadi ngs
and Mi xt ur e Rat i os
Vehi cl e and Met al Mi xt ur e
Pr opel l ant Loadi ng Rat i o
(%) Met al No Met al
Boost er opt i ons - Pump- Fed:
O, / RP- 1 55 1. 1 2. 7
O J H z 60 0.9 6. 0
Pr essur e- Fed:
02/ RP- 1 55 1. 1 2. 5
NTO/ MMH 40 0. 9 2. 0
NTO/ MMH 50 1. 0 2. 0
Mai n Pr opul si on Opt i ons -
O2/H7. 70 0. 8 6. 0
Ti t an I V:
St age 1 Opt i ons -
NTO/ A- 50 35 0. 69 1. 91
st age 2 Opt i ons -
NTO/ A- 50 40 0. 68 1. 78
Met al Loadi ng = Per cent of Fuel Mass
5
must be anal yzed. Some of t he i ssues t hat
ar e i mpor t ant i n det er mi ni ng t he appr opr i at e
desi gn f or a met al l i zed pr opul si on syst em
ar e di scussed bel ow: t he pr opel l ant densi t y,
t he per f or mance and t he syst emdr y mass.
A wi de r ange of met al l oadi ngs wer e
consi der ed f or 0, / H2/ A1, OdRP- l / Al and
NTO/ MMH/ Al . Fi aur e 1 shows t he ef f ect of ~ ~~ ~~~~ ~-
I ~~ ~~
met i i l oadi ng on I., f or Oz/ RP- l / Al ,
NTO/ MMH/ Al and 02/ H, / Al . The peak I., i s
pr oduced at di f f er ent met al l oadi ngs f or
each combi nat i on. The maxi mumI... poi nt s f or
t he t hr ee pr opel l ant combi nat <& wer e 65
per cent i n O,/H,/Al ( f or t he SSME) , 5 t o 10
per cent i n 02/ RP- 1/ A1 and 40 per cent i n
NTO/ MMH/ Al . Lat er i n t he paper , t he
sel ect i on of t he "best " desi gn poi nt s wi l l
be di scussed. The "best " desi gn i s based on
vehi cl e desi gn const r ai nt s, such as
550 '
500.
450.
400.
350 -
300 -
EWNEMIXTURER4TICE
METAL NTOIMMHIAI OZI RP- l I A I OZiH2iAI OZI H2I AI
LOAMNG LRB LRB LRB SSME
5. 0 2. 6
10. 0 2. 4
15.0
1" "
EXPANSIONFATI0
30: l
1. 7
1. 5
1. 4
1.3
1. 2
1. 1
i . 1
3 0 : l
2. 8
2. 5
2. 0 2. 5
1.8 2. 2
1. 6 1. 8
1. 2 1. 5
0.9 1. 1
0. 7
0.6
3 0 : l 77.5:1
'-p 0 2 i H2 /AI SSME
"'"'." 0 2 i H2 /AI LRB
0 2 /RP-l /AI
.....,...,
- NTOi MMHIAI
0 20 40 60 80
METAL LOADING
Figure 1. Specific Impulse vs. Metal Loading
vol ume avai l abl e f or t he LRB or ot her
boost er vol ume and not t he maxi mal I an.
The NTO/ MMH/ Al syst ems ar e abl e t o del i ver
t he hi ghest I,, i ncr eases over t he non-
met al l i zed cases. These r esul t s ar e shown i n
Tabl e 11. Wi t h t he pump- f ed LRB, t he I,, has
r i sen 11. 2 l bf - s/ l bm. Al so, t he NTO/ A- SO/ Al
pr opel l ant s f or t he Ti t an I V pr ovi ded a 9. 2
l b, -s/ l b. I,, r i se f or St age 1 and a 14 l b,-
s/ l b, i ncr ease f or St age 2. The Ti t an engi ne
per f or mance usi ng met al l i zed NTO/ A- SO/ Al
r equi r es a met al l oadi ng Of 35 t o 40 per cent
t o pr oduce t he maxi mumI., i ncr ease f or t hese
engi nes.
An i mpor t ant poi nt t o not e i s t hat t he
met al l i zed cases wi t h Oz/ RP- l / A1 have a net
I,, r educt i on over t he non- met al l i zed 02/ RP-
1 combi nat i on. A smal l I,, dr op al so occur s
wi t h t he pr essur e- f ed NTO/ MMH/ Al syst em.
Though t he Isp i s l ower ed wi t h t he addi t i on
of t he met al , t he densi t y i ncr ease af f or ded
wi t h t he 55- per cent A1 l oadi ng enabl es
denser packagi ng of t he boost er . Ther e wi l l
st i l l be a per f or mance gai n even wi t h a
r educt i on i n I sp.
The maxi mal met al l oadi ng consi der ed f or
O, /H, /Al was 70 per cent of t he f uel mass. The
met al l oadi ng when consi der i ng of al l of t he
pr opel l ant ( oxi di zer and f uel ) of t he
OJ HJ A1 pr opul si on syst emwas 38. 9 per cent
( f or a mi xt ur e r at i o of 0. 8 wi t h a 70-
per cent A1 l oadi ng) . The 02/ H, / A1 peak IIp was
461. 2 l b, - s/ l b, at a met al l oadi ng of 65
per cent of A1 i n t he H, /Al f uel , wi t h an e
of 77. 5: l and a mi xt ur e r at i o of 0. 7. Lat er
i n t he paper , t he r easons f or sel ect ed an
I,, ot her t han t he peak val ue wi l l be
anal yzed.
Wi t h met al l i zed 02/ H, / A1 ( wi t h 60- per cent A1
l oadi ng) f or t he LRB, an 8. 8- l b, - s/ l bm
i ncr ease i s enabl ed over O,/,H, ( shown i n
Tabl e 11). Thi s i s a l ar ger i ncr ease t han
t hat pr evi ousl y di scussed f or t hi s
pr opel l ant combi nat i on ( Ref s. 8 and 9 ) . The
di f f er ence st ems f r omt he f act t hat t he I ,
f or 02/H2 and O,/H,/Al ar e not bei ng compar e3
at t hei r r espect i ve maxi mumI sp poi nt s. The
opt i mum r at i o i s near 4.0 t o pr oduce t he
maxi mumO,/H, I,, at t he ver y l owval ues of E
needed f or t he LRB. The 6. 0 mi xt ur e r at i o
was sel ect ed f or t he LRB based on t he
r esul t s of Ref er ences 11 and 12. I f t he I ,
val ues of t he met al l i zed and non- met al l i ze8
syst ems wer e compar ed at t hei r r espect i ve
maxi mumI,, poi nt s, t he per f or mance i ncr ease
f or met al l i zed pr opel l ant s woul d be
r epr esent at i ve of t he smal l er di f f er ences
r epor t ed i n Ref s. 8 and 9 .
Pr opel l ant Densi t y. Usi ng t he al umi num
l oadi ngs consi der ed i n t he engi ne
per f or mance cal cul at i ons, t he pr opel l ant
densi t y f or t he RP- 1 can i ncr ease f r om773
kg/ m3 t o 1281 kg/ m3 ( 55 per cent al umi num
l oadi ng i n t he f uel ) . For H2 f uel , t he
densi t y can i ncr ease f r om70 kg/ m3 t o 220. 3
kg/ m3 ( H2 wi t h a 70- per cent al umi num
l oadi ng) . The densi t y i ncr ease i s comput ed
usi ng:
wher e:
P p . m Densi t y of Met al l i zed Fuel
(k9/ m3)
v
ML Met al Loadi ng ( Fr act i on of
Fuel Mass)
P m Densi t y of Met al i n t he Fuel
( kg/ m3)
( kg/ m3 1
PP Densi t yof Nonmet al l i zedFuel
sel ect i on of t he Best Densi t v- I , , Desi sn
Points. TOf i t t he LRB i nt o t he vo1ul ; e of an
SRB or del i ver t he maxi mal payl oad i ncr ease,
t r ade st udi es must be conduct ed t o det er mi ne
t he best I *, and densi t y f or each
pr opul si on syst em. The sel ect i on of t he
met al l oadi ng was based on maxi mi zi ng t he
vehi cl e payl oad or t he abi l i t y t o f i t wi t hi n
an exi st i ng vol ume const r ai nt .
At t he peak I,, desi gn poi nt f or O, / H, / Al , t he
bul k densi t y decr eases sl i ght l y over t hat
f or O,/H,. The O,/H,/Al pr opel l ant s may
r equi r e a heavi er pr opul si on syst emt han t he
non- met al l i zed desi gn case. Ref er ence 9
compar es t he pr opul si on mass scal i ng
equat i ons f or sever al met al l oadi ngs. Ther e
i s a smal l var i at i on i n t he t ot al mass of
t he pr opul si on syst emwi t h t he di f f er ent
met al l oadi ngs. Based on t he Ref . 9 t r ade
st udi es, t he ISp t hat i s r epr esent at i ve of a
met al l oadi ng of 60 per cent was i ni t i al l y
sel ect ed f or t he 02/ H, / Al LRB. The met al l i zed
ET used a 70- per cent met al l oadi ng. For al l
of t he r emai ni ng met al l i zed combi nat i ons,
t he met al l oadi ng was sel ect ed t o al l owt he
l i qui d boost er t o f i t wi t hi n t he vol ume
const r ai nt s of t he exi st i ng pr opul si on
s- f stems. The r emai ni ns LRB vr ooel l ant
combi nat i ons pr oduce a; over al l hensi t y
i ncr ease.
I f t he benef i t s of r educed GLOWor i ncr eased
payl oad ar e not desi r ed or si gni f i cant , t he
ef f ect s of i ncr eased pr opel l ant densi t y can
st i l l be a benef i t t o l aunch vehi cl es.
Because of t he i ncr eased densi t y, t he
pr opel l ant t ankage si ze can be r educed,
pot ent i al l y of f er i ng bet t er and smal l er t ank
conf i gur at i ons. As an exampl e, f or t he LRB
usi ng 02/ RP- 1/ A1, t he pr opel l ant t ank vol ume
i s r educed over t hat f or t he O, / RP- 1 case.
In t he met al l i zed syst em( wi t h a 49, 664 l b,
payl oad) , t he t ot al pr o el l ant t ank vol ume
was r educed t o 304. 7 m from t he 351. 1 m3
r equi r ed f or t he non- met al l i zed O, / RP- 1
case.
Al t hough t he t ankage vol ume decr eased i n t he
NTO/ MMH/ Al case, ot her appl i cat i ons of
met al l i zed pr opel l ant s, such as 0, / H2/ A1,
wi l l show a smal l t ankage vol ume i ncr ease.
Thi s i s due t o t he l ower mi xt ur e r at i o of
t he met al l i zed O,/H,/Al syst emover t he OJ Hz
syst em. I n t he 02/ H, / Al ET, t he t ot al 0, t ank
d
vol ume can be r educed f r om553.9 m3 t o 310
m3 f or t he met al l i zed case. The Hz t ank
vol ume, however , i ncr eased f r om 1515.2 t o
2022.8 m3 wi t h met al l i zed pr opel l ant s.
Over al l , t he t ot al t ank vol ume i ncr eased
f r om2069 t o 2333 m3 (a di f f er ence of 264
m3 or 12.8 per cent ) . Thi s exampl e i s f or t he
case f or t he STS ET f or bot h t he met al l i zed
and t he non- met al l i zed OJ H, syst ems wher e
t he payl oad t o or bi t was 22,527 kg (49,664
l b, ).
-
PumD- Fed and Pr essur e- Fed Syst ems. Wi t h
t he ver y- hi gh per f or mance O,/H, syst ems bei ng
consi der ed f or l aunch vehi cl es, a pump- f ed
engi ne may be r equi r ed. Pr essur e- f ed
pr opul si on syst ems ar e al so under
consi der at i on, but t hey t ypi cal l y r equi r e
l ar ger masses f or pr opel l ant t ankage and
pr essur i zat i on syst ems. Usi ng met al l i zed
pr opel l ant s, t he pr opel l ant f eed syst emmust
be desi gned t o suppl y t he non- Newt oni an,
t hi xot r opi c met al l i zed pr opel l ant wi t h t he
same r el i abi l i t y as t he non- met al l i zed H,.
Cur r ent l y, met al l i zed pr opel l ant s ar e f ed t o
smal l pr opul si on syst ems wi t h posi t i ve-
di spl acement pr opel l ant expul si on devi ces
( di aphr agms, et c. , Ref . 26). A posi t i ve
expul si on syst emand a pr essur e- f ed syst em,
however , ar e consi der ed i mpr act i cal and t oo
massi ve f or l ar ge pr opel l ant t anks. For t he
ext r emel y- l ar ge pr opel l ant l oads needed on
l aunch vehi cl es, a way of ef f ect i vel y usi ng
pump- f ed engi nes wi l l be r equi r ed.
Pr el i mi nar y pump and pr opel l ant expul si on
wor k was conduct ed i n pr evi ous r esear ch
pr ogr ams ( Ref s. 27 and 28). Thi s wor k
debonst r at ed t he f easi bi l i t y of pumpi ng
met al l i zed f uel s. Al so, t he r esear ch showed
t hat ver y hi gh expul si on ef f i ci ency coul d be
achi eved f or met al l i zed pr opel l ant s wi t hout
usi ng posi t i ve- expul si on devi ces i n t he
pr opel l ant t anks.
.-
Mass Scal i ns Equat i ons. I n det er mi ni ng
t he dr y mass of t he l aunch vehi cl e st ages,
t he f ol l owi ng gener al mass- scal i ng equat i on
was used:
mdrY =A +B m,
wher e:
mdr Y Dr y Mass ( kg)
A, B Mass Par amet er s
mP Pr opel l ant Mass ( kg)
Tabl e I V l i st s t he pr opul si on mass- scal i ng
par amet er s f or al l of t he consi der ed
syst ems. These par amet er s i ncl ude al l of t he
masses t hat ar e r equi r ed t o st or e and
del i ver pr opel l ant s t o t he mai n engi nes.
They i ncl ude t ankage, engi nes, f eed syst em,
t her mal cont r ol , st r uct ur e, r esi dual s and
cont i ngency. Al so i ncl uded, i f needed, ar e
t he aer odynami c st r uct ur e of t he boost er s,
such as t he nose cone and af t ski r t of t he
LRB. These par amet er s wer e der i ved f r omt he
r esul t s of t he LRB st udi es and t he r esul t s
of pr opel l ant - t ank mass est i mat i on codes
used i n pr evi ous st udi es ( Ref s, 8 , 9 and
13) . The par amet er A of t he scal i ng
equat i ons var i es due t o t he di f f er ent
engi ne, nose cone and af t ski r t masses of
t he di f f er i ng boost er s. The B par amet er i s
dependent upon t he pr opel l ant mi xt ur e
r at i os, t he pr opel l ant met al l oadi ng and
hence t he pr opel l ant densi t y. The speci f i c
mi xt ur e r at i os and t he met al l oadi ngs ar e
l i st ed i n Tabl e 111.
Al l of t he t ankage conf i gur at i ons consi der ed
i n t he st udy wer e based on t he abi l i t y t o
package t he boost er s wi t hi n a cur r ent l aunch
vehi cl e s l engt h and di amet er const r ai nt s.
Typi cal l y t he mai n t ankage i s cyl i ndr i cal
wi t h el l i psoi dal dome ends. Onl y t he
pr essur i zat i on syst ems used spher i cal
t ankage.
The pr opel l ant t ankage f or al l of t he pump-
f ed syst ems i s desi gned f or a 50- psi a
maxi mal oper at i ng pr essur e. The pr opel l ant
i s st or ed at 30 psi a. Pr essur e- f ed boost er s
had hi gher maxi mum oper at i ng pr essur es of
500 psi a. Al l of t he t ankage f or 0, , H2 and
RP- 1 i s composed of al umi numal l oy (2219-
T67). The LRB t anks f or NTO and MMH ar e made
of t i t ani um ( Ti - 6A1- 4V) . The f l ange f act or
( f or mount i ng f l ange masses) and saf et y
f act or ar e 1.4 and 2. 0, r espect i vel y, f or
t he pr opel l ant t anks. The saf et y f act or i s
based on t he t ank mat er i al ul t i mat e st r ess.
The pr opel l ant r esi dual s and hol dup mass i s
1.5 per cent of t he t ot al pr opel l ant mass.
The per cent age accommodat es a smal l added
Tabl e I V
Pr opul si on syst emMass- Scal i ng Par amet er s:
Dr y Mass Per Boost er
Vehi cl e and scal i ng Par amet er s
Pr opel l ant A B
STS:
Boost er opt i ons -
Sol i d 65,698.8 0. 0
Pump- Fed :
02/ RP-1 26,184.8
Oz/ RP- l / A1 26,261.2
NTO/ MMH 26.294.4
NTO / MMH/ A~ 26.294.4
26i 236. 9
26,236.9
Pr essur e- Fed:
OJ RP- 1 30,456. Q
oS~RP- ~/ A~ 30i 456. 9
NTO/ MMH 29,737.2
NTO/ MMH/ Al 29,737.2
Mai n Pr opul si on Opt i ons -
OdH,
36,050.1
O J H z / A1 10,517.4
Ti t an I v:
St age 1 Opt i ons -
NTO/ A- 5 0 9,235.2
St age 2 Opt i ons -
NTO/ A- 50 4,137.3
0.0747
0.0715
0.0650
0.0642
0.0925
0.1016
0.2009
0.1767
0.1463
0.1332
0.0
0.0469
0.0
0.0
7
pr opcl l anc mass f or cr yogeni c pr opel l ant
boi l of f . Because t he st ages have pr opel l ant
gr ound suppor t up unt i l l i f t of f , no l ar ge
al l owance was made f or pr opel l ant l osses due
t o boi l of f . The mass cont i ngency f or t he
boost er s was 20 per cent of t he dr y mass.
Each cr yogeni c O,/H, pr opul si on syst emuses
aut ogenous pr essur i zat i on. The NTO/ m
syst emused r egul at ed pr essur i zat i on. The
pr essur ant i s hel i um. I n t he pr essur ant
t a?k, t he maxi mal oper at i ng pr essur e i s 3722
psi a. The st or age pr essur e i s 3444 psi a
( Ref . 9 ) . The f l ange f act or and saf et y
f act or f or t he pr essur ant t anks ar e 1. 1 and
2. 0, r espect i vel y. For t he aut ogenous
syst ems, a smal l hel i um pr essur i zat i on
syst emi s i ncl uded. I t can pr essur i ze one-
t ent h of t he t ot al pr opel l ant t ank vol ume.
For t her mal cont r ol . t he cr voaeni c
pr opcl l nncs (Oi and H2) use a' Gi gh-
pcr f or nance mul ci l aycr i nsul at i on ( Ref . 9).
The st or abl e pr opel l ant s onl y r equi r e a
l ower - per f or mance mul t i l ayer i nsul at i on.
The met al l i zed OJ HJ AI ET al so used t he same
desi gn assumpt i ons as t he O, / HdAI LRB. Ther e
wer e, however , t wo di f f er ences bet ween t he
LRB and t he ET. One was t hat t he r esi dual
and hol dup mass of t he ET was 1 per cent of
t he t ot al pr opel l ant mass. Al so, no smal l
hel i umsyst emwas added. These changes over
t he LRB assumpt i ons ar e based on t he
exi st i ng ET desi gn.
Mi ssi on Anal vsi s
On t he STS mi ssi ons, t he mi ssi on i s
descr i bed wi t h t wo AV val ues. These val ues
f or t he Space Shut t l e mi ssi ons car r yi ng a
22, 527 kg ( 49, 664 lb.) payl oad wer e 2. 49
km/ s f or t he f i r st - st age f i r i ng (SSME/ SRB
i gni t i on t o SRB separ at i on) and 6. 74 km/s
f or t he second st age ( SRB separ at i on t o Mai n
Engi ne Cut Of f [MECO]) . These AV val ues ar e
based on t he per f or mance of t he Ul ysses
l aunch mi ssi on ( Ref . 15) and t he per f or mance
pr edi ct ed i n past STS Li qui d Rocket Boost er
st udi es ( Ref s. 11 and 12). The AV val ues f or
t he ot her STS payl oads ar e l i st ed i n Tabl e
V: 22, 527 t o 31, 979 kg ( 49, 664 t o 70, 500
l b,) . The f i nal or bi t of t he Or bi t er i s 296-
km ( 160 naut i cal mi l e) ci r cul ar or bi t wi t h
a 28. 5- degr ee i ncl i nat i on, r epr esent at i ve of
a l aunch f r omt he Kennedy Space Cent er . The
f i r i ng t o pl ace t he STS i nt o i t s f i nal
ci r cul ar or bi t i s pr ovi ded by t he Or bi t al
Maneuver i ng Subsyst em ( OMS) aboar d t he
Or bi t er . The LRB- SSME per f or mance pl aces t he
vehi cl e i nt o t he same or bi t as t he ascent
usi ng t he SRB- SSME combi nat i on. Because t he
OMS f i r i ng i s t he same i n ei t her ascent ,
t hi s maneuver i s not consi der ed as par t of
t hi s anal ysi s.
On t he Ti t an I V mi ssi ons, t r aj ect or y
si mul at i ons wer e used t o pr edi ct t he mi ssi on
AV: t he Pr ogr am f or Opt i mi zi ng Si mul at ed
Tr aj ect or i es ( POST) t r aj ect or y code ( Ref .
29) . The POST i s a gener al i zed event -
or i ent ed pr ogr amt hat can be used t o anal yze
ascent , on- or bi t and ent r y t r aj ect or i es. I t
can be used t o opt i mi ze any cal cul at ed
var i abl e and t he t r aj ect or y can be
const r ai ned t o meet speci f i ed r equi r ement .
The Ti t an I V vehi cl e used i n t he anal ysi s i s
composed of a t wo- st age l i qui d pr opel l ant
cor e and t wo seven- segment sol i d r ocket
mot or s (SRM) . The conf i gur at i on has no upper
st age. The vehi cl e l i f t s of f wi t h onl y t he
SRMs f i r i ng. Af t er SRM bur nout , t he l i qui d
cor e i s i gni t ed at appr oxi mat el y 115 seconds
af t er l i f t of f . I t s f i nal payl oad i s pl aced
i n a ci r cul ar or bi t wi t h a 407 km ( 220
naut i cal mi l e) al t i t ude and an i ncl i nat i on
of 28. 5 degr ees. The l aunch i s f r om t he
East er n Space and Mi ssi l e Cent er ( Cape
Canaver al ) .
Resul t s
-
Suace Tr ansuor t at i on Svst em
For t he STS, t wo t ypes of pr opul si on syst em
changes wer e st udi ed. The f i r st was t he
r epl acement of t he SRBs wi t h met al l i zed and
non- met al l i zed LRBs. I n t he ot her st udy, t he
changeout of 0 , / Hz pr opel l ant s f or t he SSME
wi t h met al l i zed 0dHJ A1 was anal yzed.
LRB f or SRB Reul acement
OJ RP- 1/ Al LRB. The r epl acement of
t he SRB wi t h OJ RP- l / Al al l owed denser
packagi ng of t he boost er wi t hi n t he SRB
di mensi ons. Fi gur e 2 cont r ast s t he LRB
l enat h and di amet er . The ~avl oad del i ver ed ~~
~ - ~ ~ - ~ ~~ ~ ~~
~~~
~ ~ ~~
t o or bi t is 22, 527 kg ( 49, 664 l b,, Ref . 15).
I f t he boost er i s const r ai ned t o t he
di amet er of t he SRB, t he O, / RP- l / AI boost er
i s 43. 4 m ( 142. 3 f t ) l ong: 2 m ( 6. 7 f t )
shor t er t han t he SRB. Usi ns O, / RP- 1. t he
boost er i s 47. 6 m ( 156. 3 i t ) - l ong: . t hi s
l engt h exceeds t he 45 m( 149- f t ) SRB l engt h.
Because t he met al l i zed LR.B was smal l er t han
t he exi st i ng SRB, t he sensi t i vi t y of boost er
si ze t o payl oad- t o- or bi t was consi der ed. I n
Fi gur e 3, t he LRB l engt hs ar e compar ed f or
f our payl oad masses. Usi ng a met al l oadi ng
of 55 per cent i n t he Oz/ RP- l / A1 LRB al l owed
t he boost er t o f i t wi t hi n t he exi st i ng SRB
di amet er and l engt h and del i ver al most
Tabl e v
Launch Vehi cl e Desi gn Assumpt i ons:
STS Mi ssi on AV Br eakdown
f or LRB Si mul at i ons
St age AV ( km/ s)
~~ ~
Payl oad 49. 7 60. 0 65. 0 70. 5
(k1b. A
LRB 2. 4847 2. 5894 2. 6387 2. 6920
MPS 6. 7362 6. 6315 6. 5822 6. 5289
* AV var i es f or MPS and SRB due t o f i xed
u
pr opel l ant l oad i n ET
0 2 /RP-1 /AI PUMP-FED LAB
170 PAYLOAD =49,664 lbm
160 11'191m19 RP-VAI: 55% AI
v z E I El 140 1 5 ~ ~
w
-I
U
0,
4, .
' **
m 130
%, A
"*,,
"%.,
"~.~.1.1.,.111.1.
120
1 1 O j
100 1
12 14 16 18 20
LRB DIAMETER (ft)
i ,
Figure 2.
LRB Length vs. Diameter With
02/RP-l/AI: Payload =49,664 Ib,
PRESSURE-FED LRB:
PAYLOAD =49,664 Ibm
- 021 RP-1: 00% AI
* NTO IMMH: 00% AI
02/ RP-1 /AI: 55% AI
100 -
12 14 16 18 20
LRB DIAMETER (ft)
55% AI: 70,500 Ibm
00% AI: 49,664 Ibm
--[I 55% AI: 65,000 Ibm
160 ".~"' 55% AI: 60,000 Ibm
- 55% AI: 49,664 Ibm
.I--.
170
150
3 140
4 130
120
110
100
m
12 14 16 18 20
LRB DIAMETER (ft)
rn
4
Figure 3. LRB Length vs. Diameter With
O*/RP-l/AI - Payload Mass
Parametrics
170 1
l l l l m 40% AI: 70,500 Ibm
* 00% AI: 49,664 Ibm
-0- 40% A t 65,000 Ibm
"""'" 40% AI: 60,000 Ibm
40% AI: 49,664 Ibm
-
NTO IMMH /AI PUMP-FED LRB
12 14 16 18 20
LRB DIAMETER (ft)
Figure 4. LRB Length vs. Diameter With Figure 5. LRB Length vs. Diameter With
Pressure-Fed Booster
NTO/MMH/AI - Payload Mass
Parametrics
9
27, 216 kg ( 60, 000 lb,) of payl oad; onl y 0. 9
m ( 2. 9 f t ) of added l engt h i s r equi r ed t o
del i ver t hat payl oad. By al l owi ng t he LRB
l engt h t o i ncr ease t o 49. 3 m( 161. 9 f t ) , t he
payl oad t o or bi t can be i ncr eased t o 31, 979
kg ( 70, 500 l bm) . Thi s i s a 42 per cent
payl oad i ncr ease over t he STS- wi t h- SRB
payl oad capabi l i t y. whi l e t hese l engt hs do
vi ol at e t he st r i ct SRB l engt h, t hese r esul t s
ar e i ncl uded t o show t he pot ent i al payl oad
advant ages of l onger met al l i zed LRBs.
A pr essur e- f ed O, / RP- l / Al LRB was al so
i nvest i gat ed. The l engt h and di amet er of
t hese boost er s wer e not compat i bl e wi t h t he
SRB const r ai nt s. The met al l i zed LRB i s,
however , subst ant i al l y shor t er t hant he non-
met al l i zed boost er . Fi gur e 4 cont r ast s t he
pr essur e- f ed boost er s wi t h t he a 55- per cent
met al l oadi ng. The LRB l engt h ( when usi ng
t he SRB di amet er ) i s 56. 3 m 1184. 7 f t l . The
cor r espondi ng O, / RP- 1 LRB l engt h i s' 65 m
( 213. 4 f t).
NTO/ MMH/ Al LRB. As wi t h t he OJ RP-
1/ Al boost er s, t he hi gher densi t y of t he
met al l i zed NTO/ MMH/ Al r esul t ed i n a ver y
smal l LRB: onl y 40. 8 m ( 134 f t ) l ong. I n
Fi gur e 5, t he boost er l engt h and di amet er
ar e depi ct ed. The met al l oadi ng sel ect ed f or
t he MMH was 40 per cent . The NTO/ MMH/ Al
boost er coul d del i ver a 31, 979 kg ( 70, 500
lb,) payl oad i f t he boost er l engt h wer e
i ncr eased t o 46. 2 m ( 151. 6 f t ) ; t hi s i s onl y
0. 8 m ( 2. 6 f t ) over t he exi st i ng SRB
di mensi ons.
The l engt h and di amet er of a pr essur e- f ed
NTO/ MMH/ Al boost er wi t h a 50- per cent met al
l oadi ng i s shown i n Fi gur e 4. A hi gher met al
l oadi ng t han t hat f or t he pump- f ed boost er
Was used i n t hi s LRB t o at t empt t o f i t i t
wi t hi n t he SRB si ze. At t hi s l oadi ng, t he
boost er was unabl e t o f i t i n t he SRB l engt h
unl ess t he LRB di amet er was gr eat er t han 4
m ( 13 f t ) . The pr essur e- f ed LRB i s not
consi der ed a pr i me candi dat e f or an SRB
r epl acement .
0, Lf12/ A1 LRB. Ther e was l i t t l e
vol ume benef i t f r om t he pump- f ed O,/H, or
Oz/ H, / A1 LRB. Thi s LRB was not abl e t o meet
t he SRB si zi ng r equi r ement . The l engt h of
t he LRB wi t hout met al l i zed pr opel l ant s was
80. 6 m ( 264. 5 f t ) . Wi t h met al l i zed O,/H,/Al
( 60- per cent met al l oadi ng) , t he boost er
l enqt h was 96. 3 m ( 315. 8 f t). Thi s i s
subi t ant i al l y l onger t han t he 45. 4- m ( 149-
f t ) SRB l engt h. The met al l i zed boost er
l engt h was equal t o t he SRB onl y at
di amet er s much gr eat er t han 6. 1 m ( 20 f t ) .
Thus, t he Oz/H2 and t he Oz/ H, / A1 boost er s wer e
poor per f or mer s when usi ng t he SRB si zi ng
const r ai nt s.
For pump- f ed boost er engi nes, t he nozzl e
expansi on r at i o i s smal l : 30: l . When usi ng
t he l ow expansi on r at i os r equi r ed f or t he
Oz/ H, / A1 LRB engi nes, t he maxi mumI,, f or t he
met al l i zed pr opel l ant s occur at a l ow
mi xt ur e r at i o. Thi s l owmi xt ur e r at i o f or ces
t he t ank' s t ot al vol ume t o be gr eat er t han
t hat f or t he OJ H, syst emat a 6: l oxi di zer
t o f uel r at i o.
I f t he vol ume const r ai nt s of t he LRB wer e
r el axed, OJ HJ A1 pr opel l ant s may pr ovi de a
payl oad i ncr ease and a GLOW r educt i on.
Fut ur e vehi cl e st udi es may t her ef or e f i nd
t hese met al l i zed pr opel l ant s as an
at t r act i ve opt i on.
W
LRB Masses. Tabl e VI compar es t he
02/ RP- 1/ A1 and NTO/ MMH/ Al LRB masses. These
boost er s wer e si zed f or t he basel i ne payl oad
mi ssi on. Each of t he boost er s i s
subst ant i al l y l i ght er t han t he SRB. The GLOW
of t hese opt i ons was t her ef or e l ower t han
t he st andar d STS- SRB vehi cl e. The Oz/ RP- l / A1
case r educed t he GLOW by 19 per cent ( or
394, 500 kg) and t he NTO/ MMH/ Al case was abl e
t o r educe t he GLOWby 20 per cent ( or 411, 881
kg) A l ower GLOWcan make pr ocessi ng of t he
vehi cl e easi er and t r anspor t at i on of t he
vehi cl e el ement s easi er i n t he pr ocessi ng
f l ow.
Speci f i c I mpul se Ef f i ci ency (n) Ef f ect s
On LRB Lenut h. The i nf l uence of 1) on t he
per f or mance of t he met al l i zed l aunch
Gehi cl es was i nvest i gat ed. Due t o t he t wo-
phase f l owof t he met al l i zed pr opel l ant s i n
t he combust i on chamber and nozzl e, t her e i s
a di f f er ence bet ween t he gas and sol i d-
l i qui d par t i cl e vel oci t i es whi ch cr eat es a
per f or mance l oss. The sol i d- l i qui d par t i cl es
ar e composed of sol i d and l i qui d al umi num
oxi de (Al , O, ). Once t he pot ent i al l osses of
met al l i zed pr opel l ant s ar e i nt r oduced i nt o
t he anal ysi s, t he per f or mance may be much
l ower t han t hat pr evi ousl y pr edi ct ed. A
Tabl e VI W
Li qui d Rocket Boost er Mass Summar y:
Met al l i zed OZ/ RP- l / Al
and NTO/ MMH/ Al Pr opel l ant s
Subsyst em Mass ( kg)
02/ RP- 1/ A1 NTO/ MMH/ AI
Oxi di zer Tank 1, 663. 0
Fuel Tank 1, 349. 0
Pr essur i zat i on 1, 106. 5
Engi nes and Feed
Svst em 19. 538. 9
Ther mal Cont r ol 3i 421. 8
1, 698. 0 Subsyst ems:
Avi oni cs
Separ at i on Syst em
Power
St r uct ur e: 7, 528. 0
Nose Cone 745. 0
Resi dual s and
Hol dup 5, 211. 0
Cont i ngency
( 20%) 8, 452. 2
Tot al 50, 713. 4
Usabl e
Pr opel l ant 342, 180. 8
828. 3
1, 125. 2
91. 3
19, 538. 9
3, 363. 1
1, 698. 0
7, 398. 8
745. 0
5, 121. 3
7, 982. 0
47, 891. 9
336, 310. 6
Tot al STS GLOW
Wi t h LRB: 1, 657, 671. 0 1, 640, 287. 0
10
ser i es of cases showi ng t hi s i nf l uence on
t he OJ RP- l / Al and NTO/ MMH/ Al syst ems wer e
anal yzed and t he r esul t s ar e di scussed
bel ow.
OJ RP- l / Al Ef f ect s. Fi gur e 6
pr ovi des ti ;e par amet r 2cs of LRB l engt h and
q f or 02/ RP- l / A1 pr opel l ant s. I n t he f i gur e,
t he met al l i zed q i s var i ed f r om 0. 87 t o
0.92. Thi s r ange r ef l ect s t he per f or mance
penal t i es t hat have been pr edi ct ed f or
met al l i zed pr opel l ant s: up t o a f i ve per cent
r educt i on i n q ( Ref s. 22 and 30). The LRS
l engt h i s 46 m ( 151 f t ) wi t h t he wor st - case
0. Even wi t h an q penal t y of 4 per cent (q =
0.88), t he 02/ RP- 1/ A1 LRB i s abl e t o f i t
wi t hi n t he SRB l engt h r equi r ement . Thi s case
i s f or t he basel i ne payl oad of 22,527 kg
(49,664 l bm) .
NTO/ MMH/ Al n Ef f ect s. The over al l
ef f ect of r educed q i s l east det r i ment al f or
NTO/ MMH/ Al pr opel l ant s. Fi gur e 6 pr ovi des
t he par amet r i cs of boost er l engt h and q f or
NTO/ MMH/ Al . A q r ange of 0. 87 t o 0.92 was
used. As wi t h t he r esul t s f or 02/ RP- l / Al
di scussed above, t he NTO/ MMH/ Al boost er f or
t he STS wi t h t he basel i ne 22,527 kg (49,664
lb.) payl oad i s abl e t o f i t wi t hi n t he SRB
l engt h and di amet er . Wi t h t he met al l i zed
NTO/ MMH/ Al f or t he basel i ne payl oad, t he
l engt h i s 43.2 m ( 141. 8 f t ) f or t he wor st -
case penal t y of 11 = 0.87.
Cl ear l y, t he q wi l l have a ver y st r ong
i nf l uence on r educi ng t he LRB si ze i n some
of t he met al l i zed cases. Thi s i s especi al l y
t r ue f or t he hi gher payl oad cases. A penal t y
of t he magni t ude pr edi ct ed f or met al l i zed
pr opel l ant s can ser i ousl y r educe t hei r
benef i t s. Smal l r educt i ons i n t he q ,
however , can be absor bed wi t h onl y a smal l
boost er l engt h i ncr ease. Resear ch on
r educi ng t he l osses associ at ed wi t h
met al l i zed syst ems has been conduct ed ( Ref s,
25 and 31) . Reduci ng t he A1, 0, par t i cl e si ze
wi l l r educe t he gas and sol i d- l i qui d
vel oci t y di f f er ences, i mpr ove t he met al l i zed
q and i mpr ove t he del i ver ed payl oad and
r educe t he LRB si ze. I f t he met al l i zed LRB
does exper i ence l ar ge q penal t i es, and
cannot del i ver added payl oad, t her e ar e
st i l l benef i t s t o be gai ned. The i ncr eased
saf et y of f er ed by gel l ed met al l i zed
pr opel l ant s and t he cont r ol l abi l i t y enabl ed
wi t h an LRB makes a met al l i zed boost er an
i mpor t ant saf et y enhancement
Mai n Pr opul si on Syst emReol acement
The per f or mance of an SSME usi ng met al l i zed
O>/ H- / Al i s shown i n Fi crure 1. At a 70-
,., -
per cent A1 l oadi ng, t he I,, i s i ncr eased f r om
452.66 t o 460. 61 l b,-s/l b,. Thi s met al
l oadi ng was sel ect ed af t er anal yzi ng a r ange
of l oadi ngs f r om 40 t o 70 per cent . A 70-
per cent l oadi ng pr oduced t he smal l est vol ume
i ncr ease of t he ET. Fi gur e 7 depi ct s t he
per f or mance of t he STS wi t h t he met al l i zed
SSMEs. . St andar d SRBs ar e used i n t hi s
anal ysi s. Two l evel s of cont i ngency ( or
masses t hat ar e added t o t he ET dr y mass)
ar e shown: 0 and 20 per cent . The var i at i on
i n cont i ngency was shown t o demonst r at e t he
PAYLOAD =49,664 Ibm
200 '
180
160
100 I 2 O L 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93
SPECIFIC IMPULSE EFFICIENCY
Figure 6. LRB Length vs. I sp Efficiency
METAL LOADING r
70 PERCENT AL IN H21AI
""""" 20% COWING.
- ET VOLUME
0% COWING.
...I....
2600
2000 , ' , ' I .
45 50 55 60 65
PAYLOAD MASS (1000 Ibm)
Figure 7. Metallized ET Volume vs. Payload
11
i nf l uence of t he dr y mass on per f or mance. A
per f or mance i ncr ease was enabl ed wi t h
met al l i zed O,/H,/Al but not wi t hout
i ncr easi ng t he ET vol ume. Wi t h t hese
pr opel l ant s, t he mi xt ur e r at i o of t he
pr opul si on syst ems was ver y l ow: 0.8. As
wi t h t he 02/ H, / Al LRB anal ysi s, t he vol ume of
t he met al l i zed ET i s l ar ger t han t he
st andar d ET. Recause t he mi xt ur e r at i o of
t he 02/ H2/ A1 syst em( wi t h 70%A1 i n H2/ A1) i s
so l ow, t he t ankage vol ume was i ncr eased by
8. 7 per cent over t he ET f or t he basel i ne
payl oad ( 0- per cent cont i ngency) . Even wi t h
t he i ncr eased densi t y of t he H, / Al , t he
met al l i zed syst emwas not abl e t o f i t wi t hi n
t he ET vol ume const r ai nt .
For t he cases wher e t he 20- per cent mass
cont i ngency was added t o t he dr y mass of t he
met al l i zed ET, met al l i zed pr opel l ant s
pr ovi ded a payl oad advant age but wi t h a
l ar ger vol ume i ncr ease. Because of t he
i mpor t ant i nf l uence of t he ET mass
cont i ngency on vehi cl e per f or mance, a bet t er
under st andi ng of t hi s mass i s needed. Once
t he desi gn f eat ur es of t hi s new t ank ar e
mor e r ef i ned, t he anal yst wi l l be abl e t o
mor e cl ear l y def i ne t he cont i ngency mass.
Mor e det ai l ed payl oad anal yses can t hen be
conduct ed t o f i nd t he benef i t of met al l i zed
OJ H, / Al . The added vol ume of t he met al l i zed
ET, however , may make i t i mpr act i cal t o
i ncl ude met al l i zed OJ H2/ A1 i nt o t he cur r ent
STS. Fut ur e ver si ons of heavy l i f t l aunch
vehi cl es wi t h mor e f l exi bl e vol ume
const r ai nt s may mor e r eadi l y benef i t f r om
t he IZp i ncr ease af f or ded by met al l i zed
H, / A1.
Ti t an Iy
I n t he Ti t an I V si mul at i ons, t he t ot al
vehi cl e wei ght ( l aunch vehi cl e mi nus t he
payl oad) r emai ned const ant . Thus, t he
vehi cl e dr y mass and t he t ot al pr opel l ant
l oads f or bot h t he met al l i zed and non-
met al l i zed cor e st ages ar e t he same. No
r epl acement s of t he SRMs wer e consi der ed.
usi ng t hese pr opel l ant l oads, t he added
payl oad t o or bi t was cal cul at ed. Tabl e VI 1
compar es t he payl oads f or t he t wo' cases.
Usi ng met al l i zed NTO/ A- 50/ Al , t he payl oad
was i ncr eased f r om14, 643. 0 t o 16, 336. 3 kg
( an i ncr ease of 11. 6 per cent ) . I n a
compar i son wher e t he GLOW of t he t wo
vehi cl es wer e equal , t he Ti t an payl oad was
i ncr eased t o 16, 286 kg, or 11. 2- per cent
hi gher t han t he non- met al l i zed case. An
anal ysi s of t he q ef f ect on t he Ti t an
payl oad was not conduct ed. As wi t h t he LRB,
even i f t he payl oad t o or bi t i s not
si gni f i cant l y i ncr eased, t he added saf et y
benef i t s of gel l ed pr opel l ant s may be as
i mpor t ant as pot ent i al payl oad i ncr eases.
To t ake advant age of met al l i zed pr opel l ant s,
t he Ti t an I V woul d have t o have sever al
maj or modi f i cat i ons. Though t he same t ot al
pr opel l ant mass i s used i n each of t he
st aues. t he vol umes of t he oxi di zer and t he
met al l i zed A- 50/ Al f uel ar e di f f er ent f r om
t hose f or t he A- 50 f uel . Wi t h t he 0. 68
mi xt ur e r at i o f or t he met al l i zed Ti t an f i r st
Tabl e VI 1
Ti t an I V Mass summar y:
NTO/ A- 50 and Met al l i zed NTO/ A- 50/ Al
Pr opel l ant s*
Vehi cl e Mass ( kg)
El ement No Met al Met al l i zed
v
Payl oad 14, 643. 0 16, 336. 3
St age 2:
Pr opel l ant 34, 650. 3
4, 137. 3 4, 137. 3
34, 650. 3
Dr y
St age 1:
Pr opel l ant 154, 465. 7
9, 235. 2 9, 235. 2
154, 465. 7
Dr y
St age 0:
Tot al Mass 631. 393. 0 631. 393. 0
Tot al 848, 524. 5 850, 217. 8
* Pr opel l ant Masses Aboar d t he St ages 1
and 2 Ar e I dent i cal
121. 61 m3. The vol ume avai l abl e i n t he f i r st
st age i s 126. 72 m3. The vol ume spl i t of t he
oxi di zer and f uel however i s i ncompat i bl e
wi t h t he exi st i ng t ankage vol umes.
Ther ef or e, t he t ank dome l ocat i ons woul d
have t o be chanaed t o accommodat e t he new
pr opel l ant s. The over al l st age di mensi ons,
however , ar e unchanged.
Al so t he combust i on t emper at ur e of t he v
met al l i zed Ti t an engi nes wi l l be somewhat
hi oher t han t he exi st i no enoi nes. For t he
f i k t st age, t he pr ebi ct gd met al l i zed
combust i on t emper at ur es ( 35- per cent A1 i n A-
50/ A1) and t he exi st i ng Ti t an engi ne
t emper at ur es ar e 3, 419 and 3, 336 K ,
r espect i vel y. Addi t i onal cool i ng wi l l have
t o be pr ovi ded t o t he engi ne. Ot her
modi f i cat i ons woul d be needed f or t he
vehi cl e f eed l i nes, pr opel l ant acqui si t i on
syst emand t he engi ne t ur bomachi ner y.
Concl udi nu Remar ks
Met al l i zed pr opel l ant s of f er sever al opt i ons
f or t he syst emdesi gner l ooki ng f or ways t o
i mpr ove t he Space Shut t l e' s payl oad capaci t y
and i t s saf et y. The benef i t s of met al l i zed
pr opel l ant s f or t he STS LRB l i e i n t he
abi l i t y t o f i t a l i qui d pr opul si on syst em
i nt o t he exi st i ng vol ume of t he SRB. Wi t h
met al l oadi ngs t hat ar e gr eat er t han 55
per cent , 02/ RP- l / A1 pr opel l ant s al l ow t he
LRB t o f i t wi t hi n t he exi st i ng SRB l engt h
and di amet er . An NTO/ MMH/ Al LRB wi t h a 40-
per cent met al l oadi ng coul d del i ver an even
smal l er LRB t han t he O, / RP- l / Al boost er .
Thi s case i s f or t he basel i ne payl oad of
22, 527 kq ( 49, 664 l bm).
Even when t he Dot ent i al added t wo- phase f l ow
l osses wi t h - met al l i zed pr opel i ant s ar e
i ncl uded, t he LRB i s st i l l abl e t o f i t
wi t hi n t he SRB const r ai nt s. Even wi t h an q
st age, t he t ot al pr opel l ant vol ume needed i s
penal t y of 4 per cent (7 =0 . 8 8 ) , t he 02/ RP-
l / Al LRB i s abl e t o f i t wi t hi n t he SRB
l engt h and di amet er r equi r ement . Thi s i s f or
t he case usi na t he basel i ne STS wavl oad of
22, 527 kg (49; GGS l b, ) . Si mi l ar l y+, i i t h t he
met al l i zed N' rO/ MMI I / Al for t he basel i ne STS
- payl oad, t he l engt h i s wel l wi t hi n t he SRB
l engt h. The boost er l engt h i s onl y 43. 2 m
( 141. 8 f t ) f or t he wor st - case penal t y of 1)
=0. 87.
When t he l osses f r ommet al l i zed pr opel l ant s
ar e mi ni mal , t he LRB can be shor t er t han t he
cur r ent SRB whi l e del i ver i na t he basel i ne ~ ~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~ ~ ~~~~
payl oad. I f t hemet al l i zed LRh used t he f ul l
l engt h of t he SRB, t he STS payl oad may be
i ncr eased t o 25, 674 kg ( 56, 600 kg) wi t h
O, / RP- l / Al . A wavl oad of 30. 482 ka ( 67. 200
~ ~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~ ~ ~~~~
payl oad. I f t hemet al l i zed LRh used t he f ul l
l engt h of t he SRB, t he STS payl oad may be
i ncr eased t o 25, 674 kg ( 56, 600 kg) wi t h
O, / RP- l / Al . A wavl oad of 30. 482 ka ( 67. 200
l Gm) i s proj ' e&ed usi ng' a met al l i zed
NTO/ MMH/ Al LRB.
By r el axi ng t he SRB vol ume r equi r ement s,
t her e ar e si gni f i cant added payl oad benef i t s
enabl ed wi t h met al l i zed pr opel l ant s f or t he
STS over t he exi st i ng SRB. I f t he LRB l engt h
wer e i ncr eased 0. 9 m(2. 9 f t), near l y 27, 216
kg ( 60, 000 l bm) of payl oad coul d be
del i ver ed usi ng 02/ RP- 1/ Al r at her t han t he
basel i ne payl oad of 22, 527 kg ( 49, 664 1. 4) .
Wi t h NTO/ MMH/ Al , t he STS payl oad coul d gr ow
t o 31, 979 kg ( 70, 500 lb,) i f t he LRB wer e
0. 8 m( 2 . 6 f t ) l onger t han t he cur r ent SRB.
Wi t h met al l i zed pr opel l ant s f or t he LRB,
pr opel l ant densi t y pl ays a cr i t i cal r ol e i n
al l owi ng l i qui d pr opul si on syst ems t o meet
t he demandi ng vol ume const r ai nt s of t he STS
SRB. Even t hough t he Irp of t he 02/ RP- 1/ Al
engi ne suf f er s a r educt i on over i t s non-
+' met al l i zed count er par t , bot h t hese
pr opel l ant s and NTO/ MMH/ Al ar e abl e t o
enhance t he STS payl oad capabi l i t y whi l e
r emai ni ng wi t hi n t he SRB vol ume. Fut ur e
desi gn st udi es of STS enhancement s may,
t her ef or e, wi sh t o i ncl ude met al l i zed
pr opel 1, ant s as a ser i ous pr opul si on opt i on.
usi ng met al l i zed 0, / H2/ A1 ( wi t h a 70- per cent
met al l oadi ng i n t he H2/ A1) i n a der i vat i ve
of t he SSME can al so i ncr ease t he payl oad
capaci t y of t he STS. The vol ume of t he
Ext er nal Tank usi ng met al l i zed pr opel l ant s
coul d not f i t wi t hi n t he cur r ent t ank vol ume
const r ai nt s. Fut ur e l aunch vehi cl es t hat
have l ess- st r i ngent vol ume const r ai nt s coul d
mor e- r eadi l y benef i t f r om met al l i zed
OdHdAl .
An 11. 2 t o 11. 6- per cent i ncr ease i n t he
Ti t an I V payl oad t o LEO i s enabl ed wi t h
met al l i zed NTO/ A- 5O/ Al pr opel l ant s. Sever al
modi f i cat i ons wi l l have t o be made t o t he
Ti t an st age t o accommodat e met al l i zed NTO/ A-
50/ A1. The most si gni f i cant of t hese ar e t he
r el ocat i on of t he t ank domes t o r esi ze t he
pr opel l ant t anks and t he engi ne
modi f i cat i ons f or i ncr eased combust i on
t emper at ur e.
Acknowl edsement
We woul d l i ke t o t hank Mr. Ed Hooks of
Mar t i n Mar i et t a Manned Space Syst ems f or
- pr ovi di ngmass and conf i gur at i on i nf or mat i on
on t he STS Ext er nal Tank.
~
13
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L./
14
NASA National Aeronautics and
Report Documentation Page
Spa- AdminirVation
2. Government Accession No
Report No. NASA TM- 104456
AIAA- 9 1-2050
, Title and Subtitle
Launch Vehicle Performance Using Metallized Propellants
, Author($)
Bryan Palaszcwski and Richard Powell
. Performing Organization Name and Address
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Lewis Research Center
Cleveland, Ohio 44135-3191
'. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
National Aeronautics and Spcc Administration
Washington, D.C. 20546-0001
3. Recipicnt's Catalog No.
5. Report Date
6. Performing Organization Code
8. Performing Organization Report No.
E-6291
0. Work Unit No.
506-42
1. ContractorGrant No,
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Technical Memorandum
14. Sponsoring Agency Code
, Supplementary Notes
Prepared for thc 27th J oint Propulsion Conference cosponsored by the AIAA, SAE, ASME, and ASEE, Sacramento,
California, J une 24-27, 1991. Bryan Palaszewski, NASA Lewis Research Center. Richard Powell, NASA Langley
Rcscarch Center, Hampton, Virginia 236-5225. Responsible person, Bryan Palaszcwski, (2 16) 433-2439.
i. Abstract
Mctallizcd propellant propulsion systems are considered as replacements for the solid rocket boosters and liquid
sustainer stages on the current launch vehicles: both the Space Transportation System (STS) and the Titan IV. Liquid
Rockct Boosters for the STS wcrc analyzed as replacements for the current Solid Rocket Boosters. These hoostcrs can
providc a liquid propulsion system within the volume constraints of a Solid Rocket Booster. A replacement for the
Space Shuttle Main Engines using metallized 02/H2/AI was studied. The liquid stages of the Titan IV were also
investigated; the A-50 fuel was replaced with metallized storable A-50/AI. A metallized propellant is similar to it
traditional liquid propellant. However, it has metal particles, such as aluminum, that are suspended in a gelled fuel,
such as hydrogen, RP-1, Aerozine-50 (A-SO) or monomethyl hydrazine (MMH). The fuels then undergo combustion
with liquid oxygen or nitrogen tetroxide (NTO). These propcllants provide options for increasing the pcrformaiicc of
cxisting launch vchicle chemical propulsion systems by increasing fuel density or specific impulse (I ), or both Tlicsc
increases in density and ISp can significantly reduce the propulsion system liftoff weight and allow a liquid rockct
hoostcr to fit into the same volume as an existing solid rocket booster. Also, because gelled fuels arc akin to liquid
propellants, metallized systems can providc chanced controllability over solid propulsion systems. Gelling of the
propellant also reduces the sensitivity to impacts and consequently reduces the propellant explosion hazard.
SP
Launch vehicles; Metal propellants; Liquid rocket
propcllants; Liquid propellant rocket engines; Mission
planning
Unclassified - Unlimited
Subject Category 20
as s , . 0 IS page
Unclassified Unclassified
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