Sugar Based Rocket Propulsion System
By: Farzan Saleem, Ahsan Ali, Hamza Izhar
Sugar rockets
Introduction
Sugar propellants (SP) or rocket candy is a type of
Solid fuel rockets remain in storage for long rocket propellant for model rockets made with sugar
periods, and then reliably launch on short as a fuel, and containing an oxidizer.
notice, they have been frequently used in
military applications such as missiles. Solids Sugar rockets is a simple project that uses potassium
are, however, frequently used as strap-on nitrate (kno3) and powdered sugar as the rocket fuel.
boosters to increase payload capacity or as Potassium nitrate serves as an oxidizer for the sugar
spin-stabilized add-on upper stages when that acts as the fuel. These cheap rockets will not
higher-than-normal velocities are required. only cost you $1.5 (240 Rs. /-) and are made from
materials around the house but also fly up to 1000-
The primary objective of this project is to 1500 feet into the air Sugar rockets are very fun and
understand the rocket dynamics through model easy to make but also have some dangerous
rocketry. The project includes construction of procedures in the making. When we mix kno3 and
model rockets, testing for thrust and launch. sugar together, we need to be very careful in mixing
This enables us in understanding the clear them and etc. as the simplest friction or spark can
picture behind design, construction and launch cause a violent reaction. Sugar rockets is a model of
of a rocket. The secondary objective of the a F class rocket motor which cost 17$ each (2710
project is to modify the propellant and motor Rs.-). Sugar rockets are a cheaper alternative which
design for optimization of rocket performance. sometimes, is even more powerful than the F class
rocket motor. For the propellant, with an oxidizer-
The purpose of this project was to make a fuel (O/F) ratio of 65/35, the theoretical combustion
simple rocket fuel out of ingredients that are equation is as follows:
simple to get and relatively cheap. The fuel
made could be used as a cheaper alternative to 48KNO3 +5C12H22O11 →24K2CO3 +24N2+ 55
rocket fuel which could be modified and used H2O + 36 CO2
by the country in launching satellites and
Space Shuttles into space.
Principle of rockets
In rocket flight, the forces become balanced and
unbalanced all the time. The rocket on the launch
pad is balanced. The surface of the launchpad pushes
the rocket up while gravity tries to pull it down.
When the engines are ignited the thrust from the
rocket unbalances the forces and the rocket travel
upwards. Rocket engines work on the newtons third
law of motion that is action and reaction. The
rockets move forward by expelling the exhaust in the
opposite direction at tremendous speed. Newton’s
Third Law of Motion states that for every action,
there is an equal and opposite reaction. So the thrust
produced by the rocket fuel pushes the rocket in the
opposite direction.
Surface area is the amount of propellant exposed
to interior combustion flames, existing in a direct
relationship with thrust. An increase in surface
area will increase thrust but will reduce burn-time
since the propellant is being consumed at an
How a solid propellant functions accelerated rate. The optimal thrust is typically a
constant one, which can be achieved by
A solid propellant is a monopropellant fuel, a maintaining a constant surface area throughout
single mixture of several chemicals i.e the the burn.
oxidizing agent and the reducing agent or
fuel. This fuel is in its solid state and has a Examples ofconstantsurfaceareagrain designs
preformed or molded shape. The propellant include: end burning, internal-core and outer-
grain, this interior shape of the core is an core burning, and internal star core burning.
important factor in determining a rocket's
performance. The variables determining
grain-relative performance are core surface
Purpose and hypothesis
area and specific impulse. The purpose of this experiment is to make a
model rocket consisting of a fuel, that is safe to
use, costs less than $3 and will launch over 1000
feet. Our hypothesis is that we can make a very
powerful fuel out of sugar that serves as a fuel,
and potassium nitrate (KNO3) which will serve as
an oxidizer which will provide the sugar with
enough oxygen that it produces a very powerful
thrust and launch the rocket over 1000 feet. The
problem will be that KNO3 is hygroscopic so it
absorbs moisture from the air which is the
opposite of what we want.
Materials used
PVC Pipe (¾ inch diameter, 5-inch length)
Oak Dowel (¾ inch diameter 10-inch
length)
Rubber mallet
Potassium nitrate (65 grams)
Powdered sugar (35 grams)
Bentonite clay
Drill bit (6.5 mm)
String fuse
Making Procedure
Difficulties
. The steps of making your own powerful
rocket are very simple. The resources you The difficulties that we had to face during
would need are; a PVC pipe (3/4 inch), an this project were very tiring. First of all,
oak dowel (3/4 inch), some bentonite clay we ordered potassium nitrate online. In
(easily found in cat litter), potassium the presence of sugar, the potassium
nitrate (65 grams), powdered sugar (35 nitrate couldn’t catch a single flame. After
grams), a drill bit (6.5 mm) and a fuse. that, we bought the chemical from a
First of all, you would need to add ¾ inch chemical shop, the same thing happened
length of grinded bentonite clay in the again. When we were about to give up,
PVC tube. You can mark the rod in order the school came to our help and provided
for it to be easier to add. From there you us with pure imported potassium nitrate
will use the rod to ram the clay in firmly which worked flawlessly. This gave us
using a mallet so its air tight. Then you motivation and we proceeded with our
will add 2.75 inches in length of project. The next challenge we had to face
kno3+sugar in the tube and ram it so its air was that the bentonite clay kept falling off
tight. Finally, you will add ¾ inch of from inside the rocket during the drilling
bentonite clay to seal everything. If you do process. This gave room for moist air
everything correctly, you will have ¾ going in the rocket which made the
inches of space left. That will be used for potassium nitrate very moist which caused
an ejection charge if you are deciding to launching problems. We troubleshooted
add a parachute. After that, you will need the problem by decreasing the size of the
to drill a hole of exactly 3.5 inch from the nozzle (made from clay) and reducing the
side opposite to the place where the grain size of the fuel used that increased
ejection charge is. This is important so all the surface area.
the fuel gets burnt and provides the
pressure it needs to lift off. You can now
insert the fuse and light up your rocket
Conclusion
My conclusion is that the type of sugar
plays an important role in affecting the
thrust of a Potassium Nitrate/Sugar rocket.
The 'true' sugars (Sucrose and Fructose) in
the presence of an oxidizer (KNO(3))
burned faster and were more suitable for
rocket propulsion, while Sucralose (an
artificial chlorinated sugar substitute)
burned slowly and produced very little
thrust. Rockets that use Sucrose seem to
work better that those with Fructose.
