A new type of Hybrid Rocket Engine?

[Caustic]

A hybrid rocket engine is one that uses a combonation of liquid oxidizer and solid fuel grain. A hybrid engine was recently used on Space Ship One to win the Ansari X Prize. This engine used N2O (Nitrous Oxide) injected into a combustion chamber full of Hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), a synthetic rubber commonly used in tires.

 

But I have never heard of a hybrid motor that uses liquid fuel with a solid oxidizer. What if you compressed an oxidizing agent into a dense grain and injected liquid fuel such as alcohol into the chamber containing the solid oxidizer such as NH4NO3, NH4ClO4, KNO3, or KClO4 which are all common in rocket propellents. Are liquid oxidizers just more efficient? Or would this design just not work? Being a solid, and more dense oxidizing agent, i would think that this design might have some advantages. On the other hand, it may be more difficult if not impossible to ignite or sustain ignition... i just dont know...

 

I believe that the development of new propulsion technology is important to the budding private space industry and we should all be brainstorming new ideas...

[akahenaton]

I think that it's the oxygen density that matters. liquid oxidizers are only easier to transport(flow through tubes, etc.) or at least thats what i think.

but i also have played with salt peter with a glowing red hot piece of charcoal and i can personally tell you that solid oxidizers do work pretty friggin good with the exception that it has to melt first.

[calbiterol]

Part of the process of hybrid motors depends on it being exactly the way it is. Hybrid motors are extremely finicy and very, very hard to get right because the principle is to use something not normally combustible as fuel. Check up on the wikipedia article for it; I've forgotten much of what I knew about them.