Unsteady Processes in Solid Propellant Combustion,
Abstract
The purpose of this work is to develop a theoretical analysis of unsteady processes in solid propellant combustion, particularly combustion stability and extinction by rapid depressurization. It is assumed that the solid decomposes at its surface by a pyrolysis law, and the gaseous decomposition products react exothermically following an Arrenius law. The nondimensional activation energy of the gas phase reaction is considered to be large so that the reaction takes place in a thin zone where the temperature is close to the flame temperature. The gas phase is assumed to be quasisteady and under this condition the equations in the gas phase are solved in the limit of high activation energies. The analysis of the energy equation in the condensed phase shows that the characteristic response time of the solid to gas phase perturbations is large compared to the characteristic residence time in the heat-up zone of the solid, their ratio being of the order the nondimensional activation energy in the gas phase reaction. A stability criterion has been obtained, resulting that for large values of the nondimensional activation energy of the pyrolysis law there is always unstable behaviour. For the stable case the dynamic extinction problem is being presently investigated. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA040458
Entities
People
- Antonio Crespo
- M. Kindelan