Solid Propellant Combustion with Surface Regression by Coupled Gas-Solid Approach

Abstract

In this paper, the efiect of pressure on ∞ame structure and regression rate of AP/binder composite propellant combustion in sandwich and random packed conflgurations is considered. The combustion of composite solid propellant inherently involves coupled ∞uid-solid interactions, and dynamically and irregularly evolving interface due to physical and chemically reactive activities at the interface. For such dynamically coupled physical phenomena, a coupled ∞uid-solid interaction code has been developed. Compressible Navier-Stokes equations is solved in gas phase by flnite volume method, and it is coupled to a Lagrangian solid solver using the meshfree particle method. The coupling between ∞uid and solid phases is achieved by cut-cell approach with level-set method, and conservative meshfree technique is employed in the interface-neighbouring cells with non-hexahedral cut-cells treatment. The computed regression rates of pure AP combustion at various pressure levels are validated against experimental data. Results for 2D AP/binder sandwich and random packed combustion for various pressure levels are also presented along with a study of the structure of reaction zones and surface topology.