Differences of chamber pressure variations during stage separation between flight and detonation-shock-tube-based ground tests

Abstract

Interstage separation is a key link in the flight process of a solid rocket; however, the ground test often cannot cover the environmental conditions of the flight state during interstage separation. Therefore, it is necessary to master the difference between flight and ground tests during this process for the ground test results to reflect the flight environment effectively. With the new detonation-shock-tube-based ground test technology as the research background, combined with a theoretical model and numerical simulation, this paper studies the similarity law of pressure variation in the chamber and the difference of the effect of initial pressure and density conditions between flight and ground tests. In addition, it illustrates the requirement for equivalent-simulating stage separation through the detonation shock tube.