Combustion Studies of Fuel-Rich Propellants
Abstract
Ignition and combustion studies of boron, and highly magnesium-loaded formulations for air-agumented rocket applications are reported. Ignition and combustion characteristics of pure boron and of boron-containing particulate ejecta from highly-boron-loaded fuel-rich primary motor formulations were studied. Physical and chemical characteristics of the motor ejecta were studied and their ignition/combustion characteristics were compared to those for pure boron. The minimum surrounding temperature for ignition for the two materials was nearly identical but the ignition delay time was considerably lower for the motor ejecta material. Burning times for comparable size particles of each type were equal within experimental error. In the size range of interest (2 to 10 equal micron diameter), the burning was observed to be characterized by a d1-law (kinetics-limited combustion). Thermodynamic screening of possible highly- magnesium-loaded fuel-rich propellants was carried out and candidate castable and pressed formulations for air-augmented rocket applications were defined. Several were characterized in terms of their safety and ballistic properties. Experiments were performed to identify the characteristics of the exhaust products from combustion in the absence of air. These experiments indicated that considerable magnesium, with significant fraction of it in the gas phase is produced. The presence of such quantities of magnesium gas should result in excellent combustion of the product streams emanating from these propellants with air in a ramburner. Nozzle plugging and residue formation are possible problem areas.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA030929
Entities
People
- Merrill K. King
Organizations
- ARCO