Solid Rocket Motor

Solid Rocket Motor

• Solid rocket motors are used for
– Launch vehicles
• High thrust (high F/W ratio)
• High storage density
– Ballistic Missiles
• Propellant storability
• Excellent aging
• Quick response
– storability
– high F/W ratio)

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 Solid rocket motor

Igniter

Case with propellant Nozzle

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Solid Rocket motor

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Solid Rocket Motor Components

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 Thermal Insulation
• Design involves:
– Analysis of combustion chamber environment
• Stagnation temperature
• Stagnation pressure
• Propellant gases (material compatibility)
– Selection of insulation material
– Material thickness determination for various areas
of the motor case
– For the cylindrical part of the case, the walls are
only exposed to hot combustion gases at the end
of the burn

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 Ignition System
• Large solid motors typically use a three-stage ignition
system
– Initiator: Pyrotechnic element that converts electrical
impulse into a chemical reaction (primer)
– Booster charge
– Main charge: A charge (usually a small solid motor)
that ignites the propellant grain. Burns for tenths of
a second with a mass flow about 1/10 of the initial
propellant grain mass flow.
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 Solid propellant geometry

• Shape of combustion channel  pre-

programmed pressure and thrust profile
Propellant Grain
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Solid Propellant Rockets

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 Combustion

• The chemical process in which a substance reacts with

oxygen to produce heat is called combustion.

• The substance which undergoes combustion is called a

combustible substance. It is also called a fuel.

• Sometimes light is also produced during combustion either

as a flame or as a glow.

• Air is necessary for combustion.

 Burning Rate
• The burning surface of a rocket propellant grain recedes
in a direction perpendicular to this burning surface.
• The rate of regression, typically measured in inches per
second (or mm per second), is termed burning rate (or
burn rate)
Propellant burning rate is influenced by:
• Combustion chamber pressure
• Initial temperature of the propellant grain
• Velocity of the combustion gases flowing parallel to the
burning surface
• Local static pressure
• Motor acceleration and spin
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 Modifying the burning rate
• There are a number of ways of modifying the
burning rate: Decrease the oxidizer particle
size
• Increase or reduce the percentage of oxidizer
(greater O/F ratio)
• Adding a burn rate catalyst or suppressant
• Operate the motor at a lower or higher
chamber pressure
 Burn rate catalysts
• Ferric Oxide (Fe2O3), copper oxide (CuO),
Manganese Dioxide (MnO2) are commonly used
catalysts in AP based composite propellants, as is
copper chromate (Cu2Cr2O5 or 2CuO Cr2O3).
• Potassium dichromate K2Cr2O7 or ammonium
dichromate (NH4)2Cr2O7 for AN based mixtures.
• Ferric Oxide (Fe2O3), Iron sulphate (FeSO4) and
potassium dichromate for KN-Sugar propellants
• Lampblack (carbon) may slightly increase the burn
rate of most propellants through increased heat
transfer from the combustion flame to the propellant
surface.
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 Combustion Process
• Propellants, in their simplest forms, consist of
a dispersion of varying sized oxidizer particles
within a matrix of fuel/binder.
• The combustion process involves a magnitude
of sub processes, or steps.
• One shortcoming of the BDP model is that it
considers a single particle size of oxidizer.

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•The PEM model recognizes that most
composite propellants contain a wide
dispersal of oxidizer particle sizes.

•Such a scattering is desirable because

propellants with a single oxidizer particle
diameter are limited to slightly more than an
80% theoretical maximum oxidizer mass
fraction.

•Small oxidizer particles are necessary to fit in

between the large ones in order to have a
high oxidizer percentage.
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Combustion Process

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 Ignition temperature
The minimum temperature at which a substance
catches fire and burns is called its ignition temperature.

A substance will not catch fire and burn if its

temperature is lower than its ignition temperature.

Substances which have very low ignition temperature

and can easily catch fire with a flame are called
inflammable substances.
Eg:- petrol, alcohol, LPG, CNG etc.
 Flame

•Flame is the zone of combustion of a combustible substance.

•Substances which vaporize during burning produce flames.

E.g. kerosene, wax etc.

• Substances which do not vaporize during burning do not produce

flames.
E.g. coal, charcoal etc.
 Combustion of solid propellants

• Small pieces burn fast

• The combustion proceeds perpendicular
to the surface
• Gas generation proportional to burning
surface and burning rate, r

m  Ab r p
Combustion of solid propellants

m  Ab r p m 
pc At
c*
r  ap n
c
1
 Ab a p c *  1 n
pc   
 At 
n must be < 1, preferably 0.5 or lower

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 Combustion of solid propellants
• r is altered by the initial temperature. A warm
propellant burn faster
T2 > T1
T2
pressure

T1

time

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 Nozzle
• The design of the nozzle follows similar steps as
for other thermodynamic rockets
– Throat area determined by desired
stagnation pressure and thrust level
– Expansion ratio determined by ambient
pressure or pressure range to allow
maximum efficiency
• Major difference for solid propellant nozzles is
the technique used for cooling
– Ablation
– Fiber reinforced material used in and near
the nozzle throat (carbon, graphite, silica,
phenolic)

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 Ablation
• Meteorite
– Re-entry speed of 10 - 20 km/sec
– Extreme heating in the atmosphere
– Ablation and internal energy modes cooled
the meteorite through its fall
• Ablation gas cloud
• Dissociation
• Internal energy deposition

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