Small-Scale Experiments in Plasma-Propellant Interactions

Abstract

A series of experiments has been performed to continue the process of characterizing the interaction between a hot plasma igniter such as is in use in electrothermal chemical (ETC) guns, and a variety of gun propellants. The primary diagnostic in the research reported here is pressure generation records for different interaction geometries. It is found that ignition times may be shorter for propellants with weaker optical absorption, such as M9 or JA2, than those with stronger interaction with the plasma, such as M30. This difference is attributed to the ablation of the surface without significant energy transfer to the bulk of the material in the latter case.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2001
Accession Number
ADA396174

Entities

People

  • Richard A. Beyer

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Chemical Reactions
  • Combustion
  • Energy
  • Energy Transfer
  • Gun Propellants
  • Heat Transfer
  • Igniters
  • Ignition
  • Ignition Systems
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Science
  • Measurement
  • Optical Absorption
  • Plasma Igniters
  • Propellants
  • Triple Base Propellants

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Rocket Propulsion.