Analysis of a Gas Generator System.
Abstract
A small gas generator suddenly failed in acceptance tests after a string of successes. Intensive tests and rough calculations said that heat transfer to the cold surroundings, coupled with a change in burning-rate exponent at low pressure, caused the failure. Two math models, a lumped parameter model and a full one-dimensional fluid mechanics model were devised to explain the interaction among combustion, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics. The models predict that a reasonable estimate of heat loss does not, by itself, explain the failures. The success of an isolation venturi can only be partially explained by heat transfer. Suspicion then rests on the assumption of equilibrium combustion thermodynamics at the very cold temperatures where the failures occurred. Variations with age and propellant batch are still not exonerated, even though the critical problem seems to have been solved.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA156999
Entities
People
- C. W. Nelson
- D. E. Kooker
Organizations
- Ballistic Research Laboratory