Course description
The Rocket Motors course provides an understanding of the principles of rocket propulsion and rocket propellant composition and performance.
Upcoming start dates
Suitability - Who should attend?
Students must have successfully completed the Introduction to Explosives
Engineering course or have relevant experience in order to take this as a Short Course for Credit.
Outcome / Qualification etc.
On successful completion of the course participants should be able to:
- Apply the principles of thermodynamics and gas dynamics to rocket propulsion, demonstrating that a solid rocket motor is a self-regulating device;
- Critically evaluate the principle of charge design applied to examples in the defence and commercial sectors;
- Evaluate the design of a propellant formulation against the key user requirements of safety, performance and combustion signature;
- Analyse the latest developments and drivers in the manufacture and design of future rocket propellant formulations.
Training Course Content
Core content
Rocket Propulsion:
- Principles of reaction propulsion;
- Fundamental principles of applied thermodynamics and gas dynamics;
- Mach number, flow function, flow area relationship;
- Convergent-divergent nozzles;
- Definitions of propulsion performance criteria;
- Internal ballistics of solid propellant rocket motors;
- Charge design for particular applications;
- Rocket motor components;
- Thrust vector control methods;
- Velocity and range equations for accelerating and cruising projectiles.
Chemistry:
- Principles of rocket propellant composition;
- Properties and applications of cast and extruded double base propellants;
- Properties and applications of rubbery composite propellants;
- Properties and applications of liquid monopropellants and bipropellants;
- New developments in propellant composition and formulation.
Course delivery details
One course per year; 5 days duration per course. Divided between traditional lectures, ballistic tutorials and a rocket motor range firing.
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Cranfield University
Cranfield is a specialist postgraduate university that is a global leader for education and transformational research in technology and management. We have many world-class, large-scale facilities, including our own global research airport, which offers a unique environment for transformational education...