Black powder rocket motor

Black powder rocket motors are only produced in small sizes, to reduce the risk of explosion and a loss of efficiency.

It is known that, by 1045, the Chinese were producing black powder, because many references to the subject were found in The Wu-ching Tsung-Yao (Complete Compendium of Military Classics).

[2] In the early thirteenth century the Chinese turned black powder propelled objects, formerly only used for entertainment, into weapons of war.

The black powder was packed in a closed tube that had a hole in one end for escaping hot gases, and a long stick as an elementary stability and guidance system.

Black powder rockets reached a new level of performance with the introduction of iron hulls and high-pressure combustion, developed in India by the engineers of Tipu Sultan.

With a range of a kilometer, his rocket-propelled grenades and incendiaries took British invaders by surprise during the Anglo-Mysore Wars.

[3] Impressed by these weapons, a London lawyer, Sir William Congreve, became fascinated by the challenge of improving rockets.

His systematic approach to the problem resulted in improved range, guidance (stabilization), and incendiary capabilities.

This was the birth of the true composite motor and marked the end of the use of black powder in major rocketry applications.

Motors designed with black powder are most often end-burners, due to the fast burn rate of this propellant.

[6] For miniature black powder rocket motors (13 mm diameter), the maximum thrust is between 5 and 12 N, the total impulse is between 0.5 and 2.2 N·s, and the burn time is between 0.25 and 1 second.