The Two Phase Flow Simulation of LOVA (Low Vulnerability) Propellant Interior Ballistic Behavior Using the XNOVAK Code
Abstract
The development of combustion submodels has lagged behind the treatment of hydrodynamic aspects of the interior ballistic cycle. In nearly all reported studies, the igniter has been modeled as a source of hot gas of predetermined flow rate, creating a convective stimulus to which the propellant responds as an inert substance until a predetermined surface temperature level is reached and steady-state combustion is assumed to commence. Yet, a great deal of success has been achieved despite these assumptions, while at the same time avoiding the complexity and cost of a more realistic treatment of ignition and combustion. Unfortunately, recent experience with low-vulnerability (LOVA) gun propellants has, on occasion, revealed large disparities between predictions and experimental performance. In response to this problem, a new code known as ONOVAK has been developed to provide the capability of addressing a broad range of chemical reactions within the framework of a one-dimensional, macroscopic two-phase flow interior ballistic model. The new code allows for phase- and species-partitioning of the igniter output, and arbitrary number of reactions among the igniter and propellant product species, and subsurface heating due to chemical reactions. In this paper, the code is exercised using a data base for a 105-mm tank gun firing a LOVA-type propellant. While experimental data for many of these newly-available inputs are yet unavailable, the sensitivity of results to a limited range of values is investigated.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 07, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA182421
Entities
People
- Albert W. Horst
- George E. Keller
Organizations
- Ballistic Research Laboratory