EVALUATION OF MOTOR CASE INSULATION MATERIALS FOR LOW-SIGNATURE APPLICATIONS.

Abstract

Nine candidate smokeless insulation materials were evaluated in tests using a normally smokeless rocket motor. Char and ablation rates were measured, and the smoke produced by the insulations was ranked qualitatively from study of color movies of the rocket exhaust plume. The performance of the materials ranged from poor (silicone rubber) to excellent (asbestos-phenolic) in comparison with the control. The five most promising materials were tested in a tactical rocket motor which subjected the insulations to more severe gas erosion than did the initial screening tests. Two of the materials which passed the screening tests (zinc-chromate compound and filled PBAA) eroded excessively in the tactical motor. Two others (filled epoxy and filled polyester) resisted erosion but produced excessive smoke in the exhaust. Only one material (asbestos-phenolic) had low signature and insulation characteristics. Special techniques for bag-molding the asbestos-phenolic in complex shapes were developed.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1967
Accession Number
AD0818592

Entities

People

  • Bernard L. Thompson
  • Stanley E. Anderson

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ablation
  • Asbestos
  • Chromium Compounds
  • Exhaust Plumes
  • Films
  • Gases
  • Insulation
  • Materials
  • Plumes
  • Polyesters
  • Rocket Engines
  • Rocket Exhaust
  • Rockets
  • Test And Evaluation

Readers

  • Aerosol Science/Aerosol Physics
  • Materials Science
  • ballistics.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics