Ignition by laser radiation and combustion of composite solid propellants with bimetal powders

Abstract

The use of metal powder (usually aluminum) as a fuel in composite solid propellants (CSPs) for propulsion is the most energy efficient method that allows improvement of combustion characteristics of propellants in the combustion chamber and specific impulse. This paper presents the experimental data of the ignition and combustion processes of CSPs containing Alex aluminum nanopowder and mixtures of Alex/Fe and Alex/B nanopowders. It was found that the introduction of Alex/Fe in CSPs leads to 1.3–1.9 times decrease in the ignition time at q = 55–220 W/cm2 and to 1.3–1.4 times increase in the burning rate at p = 2.2–7.5 MPa with respect to that for basic CSP with Alex. When introducing Alex/B in CSP, the ignition times are 1.2–1.4 fold decreased, and the burning rate is practically unchanged. However, the agglomeration is significantly enhanced, which is manifested through the increase in the agglomerate particles content in condensed combustion products by a factor of 1.8–2.2, at 1.6–1.7 fold increase of the agglomerates mean diameter for CSP with Alex/B.