Summary

Complex, vast, and multidisciplinary, chemical propulsion has been the subject of extensive investigation over the past few decades. Under the leadership of Gabriel Roy, this has been particularly true at the Office of Naval Research (ONR), where his team has focused on the three primary goals of combustion research: improving the efficiency, increasing the range and speed, and reducing the emissions and signatures of combustion systems.

Advances in Chemical Propulsion: Science to Technology reports on the progress achieved by the outstanding team of scientists and engineers participating in the ONR Propulsion Program. Its chapters, each written by the scientists who performed the research, cover all aspects of the combustion process, from chemical synthesis to reaction pathways of the fuel, from combustor performance to the reduction of emissions, from the sooting problem to thrust vectoring, and from diagnostics to control. They discuss the relevant issues, describe the approach used and the results obtained, and show how the findings can be extended to practical applications.

Richly illustrated and carefully edited for clarity, uniformity, and readability, Advances in Chemical Propulsion offers a comprehensive survey of the field, from pre- to post-combustion. It suggests directions for new research efforts and reflects the state-of-the-art technologies and issues that have a direct impact on combustion systems, both present and future.