Nitramine Monopropellant Deflagration and General Nonsteady Reacting Rocket Chamber Flows.
Abstract
A theoretical investigation is presented, concerning the deflagration of cyclic nitramines (RDX, HMX), which emerged recently as high-energetic components in solid propellant formulations for rocket motors. The first part of this study involves a steady state deflagration analysis of these monopropellants. This serves as a necessary preliminary step in the elucidation of the rather complex deflagration mechanism of these compounds within a propellant matrix. Following the selection of a plausible chemical mechanism model from the published literature, an asymptotic theory is advanced for the gaseous deflagration wave, derived from the large difference between the chemical relaxation scales associated with the two overall reactions under consideration. These point to the plausibility of distinct near field and (much wider) far field regions in the gas phase, obtaining a singular, boundary layer type problem. This line of reasoning has led to the derivation of a unique burning rate formula, showing increasing pressure dependence as pressure becomes higher, in agreement with experimental observations. The analysis demonstrates the primary importance of the near field, through which heat feedback to the propellant surface is controlled, and the relative importance of the far field processes in determining the overall pressure dependence.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1980
- Accession Number
- ADA085650
Entities
People
- Leonard H. Caveny
- Moshe Benreuven
Organizations
- Princeton University