For a steam rocket engine, the thrust is generated by the expulsion of steam produced by heating a liquid propellant (typically water) through a combustion process. The mass flow rate (�˙) of the propellant and the effective exhaust velocity determine the specific impulse.
If you have specific data on thrust, burn time, pressure at the nozzle exit, and the mass of propellant consumed during the operation of a steam rocket engine, you can use these formulas to calculate the specific impulse.
It is defined as the thrust generated per unit of propellant expended and is expressed in seconds.
where,
- is the specific impulse of the rocket engine (in seconds, s)
- F is the Thrust Produced
- ṁ is the mass flow rate of propellant in KG/Sec
- g0 is the acceleration due to gravity