CFD Simulation of Hybrid Rocket Motors for Interplanetary CubeSats

This paper presents the results of a Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis on a gaseous oxigen/polymethyl methacrylate hybrid rocket motor. This analysis supports the current research at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop a high performance, compact propulsion system for an Interplanetary Cube- Sat/SmallSat. The analysis presented here was conducted to give insight into the performance versus mass trade for the final design. Experimental data have been post-processed through an in-house tool and have been used to validate Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis outputs. The benefit of adding a post-combustion chamber has been investigated as a way to increase performance.