ISSN:
0021-8995
Keywords:
Chemistry
;
Polymer and Materials Science
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
,
Physics
Notes:
Composite solid propellants based on hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) have become the workhorse propellants in the present-day solid rocket motors. The other major ingredients of a composite propellant are the crystalline oxidizer and metallic fuel. As the solid loading of such propellants is as high as 86-90%, their rheological behavior is very complex. The propellant slurry needs to have reasonably low viscosity and a long pot life for better casting and, hence, for a defect-free rocket motor. The primary factors affecting the solid propellant viscosity are solid content, particle size, shape, and distribution. The present study concerns the variations of solid loading from 80 to 89% at constant aluminum cotent, variation of aluminium from 0 to 22% at constant solid loading, and the coarse-to-fine ratio of the oxidizer. The plots of yield stress, consistency index, pseudoplasticity index, and thixotropic index at different time intervals are drawn for all these parametric changes. Based on these rheological studies, the optimum ratio of oxidizer coarse-to-fine ratio, aluminum content, and level of solid loading have been determined.
Additional Material:
10 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/app.1992.070441120
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