International Journal of Aerospace Engineering (Jan 2014)
Optimum Disposition of Metal Particles in the Propellant Grain
Abstract
Using the dispersed metal in solid propellants to increase the temperature of combustion products leads to such a problem as the specific impulse loss due to the incomplete combustion of metal particles in the exhaust products. A redistribution of metal loaded into the propellant grain is one of the methods to decrease the specific impulse loss. This paper reports on the ways to obtain the optimum metal particle disposition for the case-bounded propellant grain of tube cross-sectional type. Three different approaches to analyze the metal combustion efficiency are discussed. The influence of the dynamic nonequilibrium of two-phase flow on the optimum metal particles disposition in the propellant grain of tube cross-sectional type is investigated.