A study of the burning rates of composite solid propellants in acceleration fields.

Abstract

The average burning rates of a series of composite solid propellants were measured in acceleration fields up to 1000 G using a combustion bomb mounted on a centrifuge. The propellants were burned at constant pressures of 500, 1000, and 1500 psia. Specially prepared motors allowed the study of the effect of simultaneous erosive and acceleration induced burning rate increases. The burning rates of both the non-metallized and the majority of the metallized propellants were found to depend on acceleration. The effect of acceleration was found to depend on the basic burning rates of the propellants and the aluminum and oxidizer partible sizes and weight precentages. The burning rates of two very fast burning rate propellants were found to be essentially independent of acceleration. The erosion sensitivity of a propellant was found to decrease with increasing acceleration. A model was developed which successfully correlates the experimental results obtained for the non-metallized propellants. The experimental results for the metallized propellants could not be correlated by either of two models proposed by other investigators. This result indicates that a more complex model is required to explain the observed acceleration effects for metallized propellants.