An Experimental Determination of Subatmospheric Burning Rates and Critical Diameters for AP/HTPB Propellant

Abstract

Measurements have been made of the burning rates of two formulations of AP/HTPB propellant in the pressure range of 0.3-1 atm. The experiments were performed in a windowed strand burner modified to operate under subatmospheric pressure conditions. Burning rates of the two formulations differ by almost a factor of two and the pressure dependence of both is well described by the usual power law function. Although 6.4 mm strands of the faster formulation burned stably down to 0.3 atm, it was found that the slower formulation strands would not burn stably even at 1 atm except in larger diameters. The critical diameter for self-extinguishment was found to increase with decreasing pressure. Propellant burning rate, Vacuum, Deflagration limit.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1988
Accession Number
ADA201109

Entities

People

  • Hughes E. Holmes
  • Martin S. Miller

Organizations

  • Ballistic Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Burning Rate
  • Chemistry
  • Classification
  • Combustion
  • Combustion Chambers
  • Engineering
  • Flow Rate
  • Ignition
  • Jet Propulsion
  • Law
  • Measurement
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Military Research
  • Munitions
  • Projectiles
  • Security
  • Weapons

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Combustion science or combustion engineering.
  • Rocket Propulsion.