Automatic Measurement of Particles from Holograms Taken in the Combustion Chamber of a Rocket Motor
Abstract
Performance of solid propellants in rocket motors is increased by the addition of aluminum and additives (aluminum oxide, zirconium, and so on). Some of the original metal and metal oxides are found in the combustion chamber (from the surface of the propellant to the nozzle exit). The increased propellant performance is related to its particle size distribution. This thesis describes the procedure used for the automatic measurement of particles from holograms taken in the combustion chamber of a rocket motor while firing. It describes the investigation done on two averaging techniques used to reduce speckle noise, capturing the image focused on a spinning mylar disk and software averaging of several image frames. The spinning disk and software averaging of several image frames. The spinning disk technique proved superior for this application. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov two-sample test is applied to different particle samples in order to find an estimate of the number of particles required to obtain a stable distribution function. The number of particles is calculated and given. The last part of this study shows real particle distributions in the form of frequency histograms. Keywords: Solid propellant rocket engines, Propellant grains.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA203955
Entities
People
- Dennis J. Carrier
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School