Diffuse interface method for solid composite propellant ignition and regression

Abstract

Solid Composite Propellants (SCPs) are extensively used in the field of propulsion for their chemical and mechanical stability in long-term storage, and for having simple production and operation processes. Computational modeling enables cost reduction, increased efficiency, and greater coverage of the configuration space in the SCP design process. However, accurate and efficient SCP modeling presents a number of numerical challenges. A primary obstacle in modeling these systems is capturing the complex evolving interface. Recently, it has been shown that the phase-field method has a strong ability to model the combustion behavior of SCPs, implicitly capturing the topological evolution at a relatively low computational cost. Initial phase-field methods show promise in their ability to do predictive regression modeling but require a number of approximations and heuristic modeling methods. This work presents a new formulation for the phase field regression model that combines a thermal solver with an Arrhenius rate law to model interface regression using a comprehensive and physics-based approach. This improves the capability of previous methods by increasing the number of kinematic forces that are accounted for, and allowing the study of thermal diffusivity in the system. It also enables the integration of a fully coupled solid-fluid interface. To demonstrate the efficacy of the model, it is applied and calibrated to a homogeneous monopropellant (ammonium perchlorate). The model is validated for a range of temperatures, with a reasonable quantitative match to experimental data. It was also demonstrated that the model recovered the relationship between ignition time and heat flux, with no fitting required. Overall, the method showed great capability of reproducing experimental data by matching temperature, burn rate, and thermal diffusivity profiles. Statement of SignificanceA new diffuse interface method is developed for calculating ignition and regression rates in SCPs. While this builds on previous work in diffuse interface modeling of SCPs, it is novel in its coupling to thermal transport, as well as its development of (and coupling to) a approximation for gas phase heat flux. The model is shown to reproduce experimental regression rate data with reasonable accuracy. Moreover, it quantitatively captures ignition behavior with no additional modifications to the model. The model is implemented in a high performance computational framework that is able to resolve large, three-dimensional mesostuctures.