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Combustion of Solid Fuels and Propellants

By Prof. Srinibas Karmakar   |   IIT Kharagpur
Learners enrolled: 409   |  Exam registration: 7
ABOUT THE COURSE:
This course aims to enable UG (final year)/PG/Ph.D. students to understand the fundamental combustion processes of double-base propellants, composite propellants, and solid fuels (mainly metal fuels) and compare the relevant mechanisms related to them. It starts with a brief review of the basics of rocket propulsion and solid propellants and then covers the detailed combustion mechanisms of various solid propellants including metal fuels. How the addition of metal particles changes the energetics and combustion behavior in metalized composite solid propellants will also be covered. A few lectures will be used to discuss the erosive burning in solid propellant rockets towards the end of the course.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: BE/ME/Ph.D. students in Aerospace Engineering /Mechanical Engineering and industry/research professionals from similar fields

PREREQUISITES: Thermodynamics, Basics of Aerospace Propulsion

INDUSTRY SUPPORT:
1. Indian Space Research Organization
2. Defence Research and Development Laboratory
3. High Energy Materials Research Laboratory
4. Bharat Dynamics Limited
5. Companies involved in solid propellant synthesis and characterizations
Summary
Course Status : Upcoming
Course Type : Elective
Language for course content : English
Duration : 8 weeks
Category :
  • Aerospace Engineering
Credit Points : 2
Level : Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date : 17 Feb 2025
End Date : 11 Apr 2025
Enrollment Ends : 17 Feb 2025
Exam Registration Ends : 24 Feb 2025
Exam Date : 26 Apr 2025 IST

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.


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Course layout

Week 1:  Basics of Rocket Propulsion:

The basic principle of rocket, Classification of rockets, Performance parameters, Brief description of solid propellant rockets, and Application of solid rockets

Week 2:  Solid Propellants:

Introduction to solid propellants and propellant ingredients, Selection criteria for propellants, Generalclassification of solid propellants

Week 3:  Combustion of Solid Propellants-Part-I:

An overview of premixed and diffusion flames, Combustion mechanism of Double-base propellants, Different zones of combustion (Preheated zone, Foam zone, Fizz zone, Dark Zone, and Secondary luminous zone/Flame zone), Dominant reactions

Week 4:  Combustion of Solid Propellants-Part-II:

Combustion mechanism of DB propellants-contd. Analysis of burning rate (Vielle’s Law/Saint Robert’s Law) Decomposition and combustion of ammonium perchlorate (AP)-Introduction

Week 5:  Combustion of Solid Propellants-Part-III:

Combustion of AP composite propellants (AP premixed flame, Primary diffusion flame, Secondary diffusion flame), Evaluation of burning rate, Effect of pressure and size of AP crystals on burning rate, Example problems on burning rate of solid propellants

Week 6:  Combustion of Metals-Part-I:

Metal as fuel ingredient for rocket propulsion, Properties of metals and oxides, Metal particle combustion, Glassman criterion

Week 7:  Combustion of Metals-Part-II:

Metal particle combustion (contd.), Effect of metals on combustion of propellants, Combustion products of metals, Recent and future developments on metal fuels in propellants

Week 8:  Erosive Burning in Solid Propellant Rockets:

Introduction and theories of erosive burning, relative velocity, Experimental approach, Effect of propellant characteristics and chamber pressure on erosive burning, Effect of erosion on propellant burning rate

Books and references

1. Rocket Propulsion Elements, Sutton, G.P., Biblarz, O., 9th edition, 2016
2. Fundamentals of Solid Propellant Combustion, Kuo, K.K., Summerfield, M., Progress in Astronautics & Aeronautics, Vol. 90, AIAA. 1984
3. Rocket Propulsion by K Ramamurthi, MacMillan, 2010
4. NPTEL courses: (a) 'Aerospace Propulsion' by Prof. P.A Ramakrishna, (b) 'Jet and Rocket Propulsion' by Prof. A. Kushari, and (c) 'Rocket Propulsion' by Prof. K. Ramamurthi and Prof. V.N. Rao

Instructor bio

Prof. Srinibas Karmakar

IIT Kharagpur
Prof. Srinibas Karmakar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. He obtained Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Louisiana State University, U.S.A. in August 2012 with a specialization in combustion. Since then he is involved in teaching and research in the broad domain of propulsion and combustion. He has been teaching propulsion-related courses at IIT Kharagpur for more than ten years. These include Thermodynamics and Aerospace Propulsion Systems, Theory of Jet Propulsion, Rocket Propulsion, and Propulsion Laboratory course. He has guided (singly and jointly) five Ph.D. theses so far. The first Ph.D. student singly guided by him is now a faculty member at IIT Kanpur. Prof. Karmakar’s research areas include droplet and spray combustion, combustion of solid fuels and propellants, combustion of energetic metals, and green propellants. His research projects are majorly funded by DRDO and SERB.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.
The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).
Date and Time of Exams: April 26, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.
Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.
The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.
Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 6 assignments out of the total 8 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Kharagpur .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team


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