Specific Impulse
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Specific Impulse
Specific impulse (usually abbreviated ) is a measure of how efficiently a reaction mass engine (a rocket using propellant or a jet engine using fuel) creates thrust. For engines whose reaction mass is only the fuel they carry, specific impulse is exactly proportional to the effective exhaust gas velocity. A propulsion system with a higher specific impulse uses the mass of the propellant more efficiently. In the case of a rocket, this means less propellant needed for a given delta-v, so that the vehicle attached to the engine can more efficiently gain altitude and velocity. In an atmospheric context, specific impulse can include the contribution to impulse provided by the mass of external air that is accelerated by the engine in some way, such as by an internal turbofan or heating by fuel combustion participation then thrust expansion or by external propeller. Jet engines breathe external air for both combustion and by-pass, and therefore have a much higher specific impulse than ...
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Rocket Engine
A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propulsive jet of fluid, usually high-temperature gas. Rocket engines are reaction engines, producing thrust by ejecting mass rearward, in accordance with Newton's third law. Most rocket engines use the combustion of reactive chemicals to supply the necessary energy, but non-combusting forms such as cold gas thrusters and nuclear thermal rockets also exist. Vehicles propelled by rocket engines are commonly called rockets. Rocket vehicles carry their own oxidiser, unlike most combustion engines, so rocket engines can be used in a vacuum to propel spacecraft and ballistic missiles. Compared to other types of jet engine, rocket engines are the lightest and have the highest thrust, but are the least propellant-efficient (they have the lowest specific impulse). The ideal exhaust is hydrogen, the lightest of all elements, but chemical rockets produce a mix of heavier species, reducing the e ...
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Thrust-to-weight Ratio
Thrust-to-weight ratio is a dimensionless ratio of thrust to weight of a rocket, jet engine, propeller engine, or a vehicle propelled by such an engine that is an indicator of the performance of the engine or vehicle. The instantaneous thrust-to-weight ratio of a vehicle varies continually during operation due to progressive consumption of fuel or propellant and in some cases a gravity gradient. The thrust-to-weight ratio based on initial thrust and weight is often published and used as a figure of merit for quantitative comparison of a vehicle's initial performance. Calculation The thrust-to-weight ratio is calculated by dividing the thrust (in SI units – in newtons) by the weight (in newtons) of the engine or vehicle. Note that the thrust can also be measured in pound-force (lbf), provided the weight is measured in pounds (lb). Division using these two values still gives the numerically correct (dimensionless) thrust-to-weight ratio. For valid comparison of the initial th ...
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Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in British imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. Various definitions have been used; the most common today is the international avoirdupois pound, which is legally defined as exactly , and which is divided into 16 avoirdupois ounces. The international standard symbol for the avoirdupois pound is lb; an alternative symbol is lbm (for most pound definitions), # ( chiefly in the U.S.), and or ″̶ (specifically for the apothecaries' pound). The unit is descended from the Roman (hence the abbreviation "lb"). The English word ''pound'' is cognate with, among others, German , Dutch , and Swedish . These units are historic and are no longer used (replaced by the metric system). Usage of the unqualified term ''pound'' reflects the historical conflation of mass and weight. This accounts for the modern distinguishing terms ''pound-mass'' and '' pound-force''. Etymology The word 'pound' and its cognates ultim ...
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English Unit
English units are the units of measurement used in England up to 1826 (when they were replaced by Imperial units), which evolved as a combination of the Anglo-Saxon and Roman systems of units. Various standards have applied to English units at different times, in different places, and for different applications. Use of the term "English units" can be ambiguous, as, in addition to the meaning used in this article, it is sometimes used to refer to the units of the descendent Imperial system as well to those of the descendant system of United States customary units. The two main sets of English units were the Winchester Units, used from 1495 to 1587, as affirmed by King Henry VII, and the Exchequer Standards, in use from 1588 to 1825, as defined by Queen Elizabeth I. In England (and the British Empire), English units were replaced by Imperial units in 1824 (effective 1 January 1826) by a Weights and Measures Act, which retained many though not all of the unit names and redefin ...
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Slug (unit)
The slug is a derived unit of mass in a weight-based system of measures, most notably within the British Imperial measurement system and the United States customary measures system. Systems of measure either define mass and derive a force unit ''or'' define a base force and derive a mass unit (cf. ''poundal'', a derived unit of force in a force-based system). A slug is defined as the mass that is accelerated by 1 ft/s2 when a net force of one pound (lbf) is exerted on it. : 1~\text = 1~\text\frac \quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad 1~\text = 1~\text\frac One slug is a mass equal to based on standard gravity, the international foot, and the avoirdupois pound.Shigley, Joseph E. and Mischke, Charles R. ''Mechanical Engineering Design'', Sixth ed, pp. 31–33. McGraw Hill, 2001. . At the Earth's surface, an object with a mass of 1 slug weighs approximately .Shevell, R.S. ''Fundamentals of Flight'', Second ed, p. xix. Prentice-Hall, 1989. History The ''slug'' is part of a ...
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Mass Flow Rate
In physics and engineering, mass flow rate is the mass of a substance which passes per unit of time. Its unit is kilogram per second in SI units, and slug per second or pound per second in US customary units. The common symbol is \dot (''ṁ'', pronounced "m-dot"), although sometimes ''μ'' (Greek lowercase mu) is used. Sometimes, mass flow rate is termed ''mass flux'' or ''mass current'', see for example ''Schaum's Outline of Fluid Mechanics''. In this article, the (more intuitive) definition is used. Mass flow rate is defined by the limit: \dot = \lim_ \frac = \frac i.e., the flow of mass through a surface per unit time . The overdot on the is Newton's notation for a time derivative. Since mass is a scalar quantity, the mass flow rate (the time derivative of mass) is also a scalar quantity. The change in mass is the amount that flows ''after'' crossing the boundary for some time duration, not the initial amount of mass at the boundary minus the final amount at the boun ...
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Pound (force)
The pound of force or pound-force (symbol: lbf, sometimes lbf,) is a unit of force used in some systems of measurement, including English Engineering units and the foot–pound–second system. Pound-force should not be confused with pound-mass (lb), often simply called ''pound'', which is a unit of mass, nor should these be confused with foot-pound (ft⋅lbf), a unit of energy, or pound-foot (lbf⋅ft), a unit of torque. Definitions The pound-force is equal to the gravitational force exerted on a mass of one avoirdupois pound on the surface of Earth. Since the 18th century, the unit has been used in low-precision measurements, for which small changes in Earth's gravity (which varies from equator to pole by up to half a percent) can safely be neglected. The 20th century, however, brought the need for a more precise definition, requiring a standardized value for acceleration due to gravity. Product of avoirdupois pound and standard gravity The pound-force is the product ...
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Newton (unit)
The newton (symbol: N) is the unit of force in the International System of Units (SI). It is defined as 1 kg⋅m/s, the force which gives a mass of 1 kilogram an acceleration of 1 metre per second per second. It is named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on classical mechanics, specifically Newton's second law of motion. Definition A newton is defined as 1 kg⋅m/s (it is a derived unit which is defined in terms of the SI base units). One newton is therefore the force needed to accelerate one kilogram of mass at the rate of one metre per second squared in the direction of the applied force. The units "metre per second squared" can be understood as measuring a rate of change in velocity per unit of time, i.e. an increase in velocity by 1 metre per second every second. In 1946, Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures (CGPM) Resolution 2 standardized the unit of force in the MKS system of units to be the amount needed to accelerate 1 kilogram of mass at the rate ...
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Thrust Specific Fuel Consumption
Thrust-specific fuel consumption (TSFC) is the fuel efficiency of an engine design with respect to thrust output. TSFC may also be thought of as fuel consumption (grams/second) per unit of thrust (newtons, or N), hence ''thrust-specific''. This figure is inversely proportional to specific impulse, which is the amount of thrust produced per unit fuel consumed. TSFC or SFC for thrust engines (e.g. turbojets, turbofans, ramjets, rockets, etc.) is the mass of fuel needed to provide the net thrust for a given period e.g. lb/(h·lbf) (pounds of fuel per hour-pound of thrust) or g/(s·kN) (grams of fuel per second-kilonewton). Mass of fuel is used, rather than volume (gallons or litres) for the fuel measure, since it is independent of temperature. Specific fuel consumption of air-breathing jet engines at their maximum efficiency is more or less proportional to exhaust speed. The fuel consumption ''per mile'' or ''per kilometre'' is a more appropriate comparison for aircraft that travel a ...
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Airbreathing Jet Engine
An airbreathing jet engine (or ''ducted jet engine'') is a jet engine that ejects a propelling (reaction) jet of hot exhaust gases after first taking in atmospheric air, followed by compression, heating and expansion back to atmospheric pressure through a nozzle. Alternatively the reaction jet may include a cold jet of ducted bypass air which has been compressed by a fan before returning to atmospheric pressure through an additional nozzle. These engines are gas turbine engines. Engines using only ram for the compression process, and no turbomachinery, are the ramjet and pulsejet. All practical airbreathing jet engines heat the air by burning fuel. Alternatively a heat exchanger may be used ( nuclear-powered jet engine). Most modern jet engines are turbofans. They replaced turbojets as they use less fuel. Background The original air-breathing gas turbine jet engine was the turbojet. It was a concept brought to life by two engineers, Frank Whittle in England UK and Hans von Oha ...
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Gas-generator Cycle
The gas-generator cycle is a power cycle of a pumped liquid bipropellant rocket engine. Part of the unburned propellant is burned in a gas generator (or preburner) and the resulting hot gas is used to power the propellant pumps before being exhausted overboard, and lost. Because of this loss, this type of engine is termed open cycle. Usage Gas-generator combustion engines include the following: * Vulcain, HM7B *Merlin *RS-68 *RS-27A *J-2X * F-1 *RD-107 * CE-20 * Rocket launch systems that use gas-generator combustion engines: *Ariane 5 *Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy *Delta IV *Saturn V *Soyuz * Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle III *Long March 3B, Long March 2F *Rocket Lab Neutron *Miura 5 See also * Combustion tap-off cycle * Expander cycle * Pressure-fed engine * Rocket engine A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propulsive jet of fluid, usually high-temperature gas. Rocket engines are reaction engines, producin ...
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