Static Firing Tests of Solid Propellant Rocket Motors: Uncertainty Levels of Thrust Measurements

Abstract

Static firing tests of solid propelled rocket motors (SRMs) are important tests in aerospace industry during the development of new motors as well as to assure the quality of a motor batch. This type of test allows the operator to obtain the measured “thrust versus time of burning” graphic yielded by the motor during burning to verify whether the motor performance matches the project requirements. Laboratory Quality Certificates and good measurement practices make necessary the evaluation of the typical uncertainty of these test results, which demand a wide number of instruments, called measurement chain. This work aims to present the uncertainty levels expressed to the thrust values gathered during a SRM static firing test for two differently configured measurement chains. In order to estimate the uncertainty of a complete measurement chain, the theories of expanded and combined uncertainties are employed. It was possible to verify that in the analyzed case the use of signal amplifiers increased the measurement uncertainty of the chain.