University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Solid Rocket Motor Internal Ballistics Simulation Using Three-Dimensional Grain Burnback

Willcox, Michael L.; Brewster, M. Quinn; Tang, Kung-Chyun; Stewart, D. Scott; Kuznetsov, Igor R.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/14458

Description

Title
Solid Rocket Motor Internal Ballistics Simulation Using Three-Dimensional Grain Burnback
Author(s)
  • Willcox, Michael L.
  • Brewster, M. Quinn
  • Tang, Kung-Chyun
  • Stewart, D. Scott
  • Kuznetsov, Igor R.
Issue Date
2007-05
Keyword(s)
  • solid rocket
  • simulation
  • propellant
  • minimum distance function
  • erosive burning
Abstract
Internal ballistics simulations of solid rocket motors have been conducted with the propellant grain’s 3-D burning surface geometry described by a new minimum distance function approach and the internal flowfield represented by 1-D, time-dependent, single-phase compressible flow equations. The combustion model includes erosive burning and unsteady, dynamic burning corresponding to transient energy storage in the heated surface layer of the propellant. The integrated internal ballistics code (Rocballist) is used to investigate the role of these two burning rate augmenting mechanisms in solid rocket motor performance. Two tactical motors are used as test cases. Results indicate that dynamic burning can be the dominant factor in producing a short-duration ignition pressure spike in low-L􏰀 motors, particularly if the L=D ratio is not too large and the port cross section is nonrestrictive (e.g., center perforated grain). However, when L=D is large and the port cross section is noncircular in the aft section (aft fins/slots), erosive burning can take over in dominating the burning rate to the extent that an otherwise progressive pressure-time trace becomes regressive/neutral. That is, erosive burning can effectively prolong the initial pressure spike in some star-aft motors. The results also show that with sufficiently accurate models of dynamic burning and erosive burning, it is reasonable to expect reliable internal ballistics predictions with suitable simplified flowfield models, thereby realizing significant reductions in computation time compared with 3-D, multiphase reacting flow simulations.
Publisher
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Series/Report Name or Number
JOURNAL OF PROPULSION AND POWER, Vol. 23, No. 3, May–June 2007
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/14458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2514/1.22971
Copyright and License Information
Copyright owned by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., 2007

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