A Study of Flame Spreading and Combustion Phenomena of Stick Propellants

Abstract

The flame spreading and combustion phenomena of stick propellants were studied both experimentally and theoretically in three major research areas: (a) investigation of the flame spreading and combustion processes inside a single stick propellant under controlled external pressurization; (b) study of the strand and erosive burning characteristics of stick propellants; and (c) investigation of combustion phenomena of stick propellant bundles under simulated gun conditions. A comprehensive theoretical model for each of the research areas was formulated, solved numerically, and validated by experimental data. Experimentally, four combustion chambers were designed to conduct single-stick, erosive-burning, strand burner, and stick bundle tests. It was found that the critical pressure differential for stick propellant grain rupture increased monotonically with pressurization rate, and the critical pressure differential can be substantially higher at rapid pressurization rates than at steady-state conditions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 29, 1988
Accession Number
ADA193598

Entities

People

  • K. K. Kuo
  • W. H. Hsieh

Organizations

  • Pennsylvania State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Burning Rate
  • Classification
  • Combustion
  • Combustion Chambers
  • Combustion Products
  • Digital Images
  • Equations
  • Erosive Burning
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Military Research
  • Propellant Grains
  • Propellants
  • Propulsion Systems
  • Radiography
  • Security
  • Simulations
  • X Rays

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Rocket Propulsion.