An elementary discussion of propellant flame geometry

Abstract

We examine the geometry of diffusion flames generated by the burning of a heterogeneous solid propellant, using a simple model designed to provide qualitative insights. In the fast chemistry limit a strategy is used which has its roots in Burke and Schumann’s 1928 study of diffusion flames, albeit with different boundary conditions. This shows that the stoichiometric level surface (SLS) intersects the propellant surface at a point displaced from the fuel/oxidizer interface, and the variations of this displacement with Peclet number are discussed. We show that for model sandwich propellants, or their axisymmetric counterpart, the geometry of the SLS when the core is oxidizer is quite different from the geometry of the SLS when the core is fuel. Also, it is much easier to quench the flame on an oxidizer core, by reducing the Peclet number, than it is to quench the flame on a fuel core. When finite chemistry effects are accounted for, the flame only occupies a portion of the SLS, and there is a leading edge structure in which premixing plays a role. Enhancement of the burning rate due to premixing is identified, but a well-defined tribrachial structure is not observed. We show how a sharp reduction in pressure can lead to a detachment of the flame from the SLS, with subsequent quenching as it is swept downstream.