TARC TEST STUDY GUIDE

Tuesday, September 5, 2023 6:47 PM

PARTS OF A ROCKET: MOTORS:

BASIC THEORY: - Reloadable solid rocket motors ---> Motor casing which is lined with heat
- A rocket in its simplest form is a chamber enclosing a gas under pressure. resistant material and filled with a combustible propellant
○ A small opening at one end of the chamber allows the gas to escape, and in doing so - Propellant is burned ---> Provides resistant material & filled with a
provides a thrust that propels the rocket in the opposite direction. combustible propellant
○ Simplest form of rockets: Balloons - Propellant is burned ---> Provides expanding gases ---> Accelerated through
- NEWTON'S LAWS: a nozzle at one end of the motor to provide thrust (N3L)
○ First Law - Objects at rest will stay at rest and objects in motion will stay in motion in a - To contain these hot expanding gases within motor casing + directed
straight line unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. toward the nozzle ---> flexible o-ring seals are used in the seams of the
○ Second Law - Force is equal to mass times acceleration. (F=ma) motor casing
▪ The amount of thrust (force) produced by a rocket engine will be determined by - AFTER EACH USE ---> Motor casing is cleaned out + reloaded with
the rate at which the mass of the rocket fuel burns and the speed of the gas propellant + fresh seals
escaping the rocket.
○ Third Law - For every action there is always an opposite and equal reaction.
▪ Reason why rockets actually work better in space than they do in air --> As
exhaust gas leaves the rocket engine it must push away the surrounding air; this
uses up some of the energy of the rocket --> in space, exhaust gases can escape
freely
- CENTER OF MASS/GRAVITY - Has to do with gravity
○ All matter, regardless of size, mass, or shape, has a point inside called the center of
mass (CM).
○ Exact spot where all of the mass of that object is perfectly balanced
○ Balance the object on your finger. Where your finger is at when the object is balanced
is the CM.
○ CM is important in rocket flight because it is around this point that an unstable rocket (a) Solid propellant
tends to tumble. (b) Motor casing
○ Roll, pitch, yaw - 3 axes in flight in which spinning or tumbling takes place (c) Motor liner
▪ PITCH AND YAW ARE MOST IMPORTANT! (d) O-rings + fiber washers
▪ Roll is good --> helps stabilize the rocket (e) Forward closure (contains motor delay components)
○ Unstable motions about the pitch and yaw axes will cause the rocket to leave the (g) Compound nozzle
planned course. (h) Rear closure
○ Adding weight changes CM
- CENTER OF PRESSURE - Has to do with air pressure - Forward closure is designed to accommodate a delay element + ejection
○ Exists only when air is flowing past the moving rocket. charge.
○ The point on a rocket where the surface area is the same on one side as the other. - Delay element ---> cylindrical grain of combustible material
○ CP is not in the same place as CM - Typical delays - 6, 10, 14, 18 seconds
○ EXTREMELY IMPORTANT - CP located near tail & CM located toward nose
▪ If in the same place or near each other --> Low stability
○ Manually determine CP by cutting out an exact silhouette of the rocket from cardboard
and balancing it on a ruler edge
○ Increasing fin size ---> moves CP further from CM (bc more stability and stability =
distance between CP and CM)
- MASS
○ Another important factor affecting the performance of a rocket.
○ Basic principle of rocket flight - For a rocket to leave the ground, the engine must
produce a thrust that is greater than the total mass of the vehicle
○ Distribution of total mass - GENERAL FORMULA
▪ 91% Propellants - 3% Tanks, Engines, Fins, etc. - 6% Payload - THRUST
○ Determining effectiveness of a rocket - MASS FRACTION (MF) ○ Force (N) which moved the rocket through the air.
▪ MF = (Mass of propellants)/(Total Mass) ○ Application of N3L
▪ Ideal Mass Fraction - Above 0.91 ▪ Fnet*change in time = mass*(vf-vi)
▪ Larger the MF ---> Less payload the rocket can carry ○ A larger engine producing greater thrust could make the same
▪ Smaller the MF ---> Less its range becomes (bc Mass = big) payload mass reach the same velocity by operating for a shorter
- SWING TEST period of time.
○ Basic test to give you a rough idea how your rocket will fly ○ AVERAGE THRUST * BURN TIME OF ENGINE = TOTAL IMPULSE OF
○ If rocket, when swung, points in the direction being swung ---> Good indicator that ENGINE
rocket will be a stable flyer ○ Motor class letter (For Model Rockets A-O) ---> Gives the maximum
○ If rocket just tumbles ---> CP and CG are too close together ---> Try adding weight to total impulse of that class of engine
nose ○ As you go down the alphabet (A-O), the impulse of the motor class is
greater.
STRESS THIS: FOR A STABLE MODEL ROCKET, THE CENTER OF PRESSURE MUST BE LOCATED ○ Impulse units: [N*s]
BELOW THE CENTER OF GRAVITY. ○ TARC ALLOWS A MAXIMUM TOTAL IMPULSE OF 80 N*s (F MOTOR)

- Be wary of TOO HIGH STABILITY ---> Leads to weather cocking

○ Derived from the action of a weather vane
○ As a rocket accelerates away from the launch pad, the velocity increases and the
aerodynamic force on the rocket increase
○ Aerodynamic forces depend on ---> Square of the velocity of the air passing the vehicle
○ Wind introduces an additional velocity component perpendicular to the flight
path. ---> EFFECTIVE FLOW DIRECTION is produced at an ANGLE (addition of
components)
○ Effective flow is inclined to the rocket axis ---> aerodynamic lift force is generated by
the rocket body and fins ---> Lift force causes the rocket to rotate about the center of
gravity producing a NEW FLIGHT PATH INTO THE WIND
○ Will continue to fly in new flight direction bc new flight path is aligned with EFFECTIVE
FLOW DIRECTION

Rocketry Study Guide Page 1