Depressurization induced extinction of burning solid propellant.

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a combined theoretical and experimental study of the process in which solid-propellant combustion is terminated by a rapid drop in pressure. Experimentally, propellant burning in a small rocket motor was subjected to a rapid pressure drop when an auxiliary nozzle was suddenly opened. Such tests were run with varying nozzle sizes for the auxiliary nozzle, and the boundary between extinction and nonextinction was determined. The results were then compared to the predictions of the theoretical model that was based on the assumption that extinction occurs when the heat absorption by the solid propellant exceeds the heat transfer to the solid propellant from the combustion gas. In general, the theoretical predictions agreed well with both the experimental results gathered in this program and those published by other investigators.