Solid Rocket Propellant Research

Linda KellyJohn Marshall HS-Northside ISD

Faculty Mentor- Eric Petersen, Ph.D.

Mechanical Engineering Dept.Texas A&M University

Solid Propellant ResearchApplications

Rocket Fuel

Offshore Drilling

Deploy Air Bags

Solid Propellant ResearchRocket Power = Combustion Rx

• NH4ClO4 = oxidizer

• Hydroxyl Terminated Polybutadiene hydrocabon chain = binder and fuel

• Isophorone Diisocyanate = curing agent

• additives

Solid Propellant ResearchSummary of methods

The substances are mixed under vacuum to remove gaseous contaminants.

Solid Propellant ResearchSummary of methods

The mixed substances are extruded under vacuum into Teflon tubing, cured, and cut into 1-inch pieces.

Solid Propellant ResearchTesting

Samples are mounted in the high-pressure strand burner

Solid Propellant ResearchTesting

Ignition and data collection are done remotely

Propellant Testing

Video Stills from a Propellant Test

AnalysisAnalysis

Determining Burning Rate

t r = tX

X

Burning Rate

MotivationMotivation

Tailor Burning Rate to Application Objective

• Develop Baseline Propellant of AP and Binder• Utilize Additives to Modify Combustion

10 100 2000.3

1

1.2

1

Bur

ning

Rat

e (c

m/s

)

Pressure (atm)

Mix 1 Mix 2 Mix 3 Mix 4

10 100 2000.3

1

1.2

1

Bur

ning

Rat

e (c

m/s

)

Pressure (atm)

Mix 1 Mix 2 Mix 3 Mix 4

r = aPn

Baseline

10 100 2000.3

1

1.2

1

Bur

ning

Rat

e (c

m/s

)

Pressure (atm)

Mix 1 Mix 2 Mix 3 Mix 4

10 100 2000.3

1

1.2

1

Bur

ning

Rat

e (c

m/s

)

Pressure (atm)

Mix 1 Mix 2 Mix 3 Mix 4

r = aPn

Baseline

Solid Propellant ResearchOverview of procedure

AP crystals

+HC fuel… made

intopropellantsamples

ignited

data collected

& analyzed Where

do I fit?

Solid Propellant ResearchBackground data

Variety of crystal sizes in AP

0 100 200 300 400 500 6000

2

4

6

8

10

Pe

rce

nt

Diameter, Microns

0 100 200 300 400 500 6000

2

4

6

8

10

Pe

rce

nt

Diameter, Microns

Solid Propellant ResearchBackground data

Different types of

burning achieved

with various sizes

of particles

Solid Rocket PropellantMy project

• Attain crystal images with microscopy and digital photography

• Enhance images with Photoshop

• Size crystals with IQMaterials software

• Analyze data with Excel

• Standardize the procedure for the size distribution in a sample of NH4ClO4 started by Matthew Janish

Solid Propellant ResearchMy project--the beginning

Solid Propellant ResearchBurning questions

• How is AP synthesized?

• What is the crystalline structure—it’s not cubic, monoclinic, orthorhombic… that other crystals are?

• How does this supply of AP compare with previous data?

Solid Propellant ResearchClassroom activity

Task: determine the mathematical attributes and size distribution of a sample of rocket propellant

Given samples, students determine mass, volume, density, surface area, perimeter, size distribution

Use appropriate units, show sample calculations, graph distribution of particles

TEKS: Chemistry 1,2,3 Physics 1,2,3ACD

Solid Propellant ResearchSpecial Thanks

• Dr. Eric Petersen

• Kevin Kreitz

• Tom Sammet

• Tyler Allen• Nicole, Will, Jonas, Nolan, Madeleine, Sean

• NSF

• A&M partners

Solid Propellant ResearchResources

• Graph of burn rate and diameters from Jeppson, M.B., Beckstead M.W., Jing, Q., “A Kinetic model for the Premixed Combustion of a Fine AP/HTPB Composite Propellant,” 36th Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, 1998, AIAA Paper 98-0447.

• Images and information from Kevin Kreitz presentation, May 27, 2009

• Images from Microsoft Office clipart• Image of crystals by Matthew Janish; Ammonium

Perchlorate Particle Sizing, August, 2007

That’s rocket science.