CHEMICAL ROCKET PROPELLANTS

• A propellant consists of all the chemical materials, including fuel

and oxidizer, along with certain additives necessary for sustaining
the combustion process to produce high-pressure hot gases, that
which are expanded in a nozzle to produce thrust.
• The principal ingredients of a propellant are the fuel and the
oxidizer. Generally, a fuel is a chemical substance that reacts with
an oxidizer while releasing thermal energy.
• Chemically, fuel can be defined as the chemical substance that can
donate electrons during chemical reaction with oxidizer.
• In contrast, an oxidizer is that chemical substance that accepts
electrons during chemical reaction with the fuel.
• The property of an atom by virtue of which it can either accept or
donate electrons is known as electronegativity, which distinguishes
a fuel and an oxidizer.
• Additives are used to enhance the properties of the propellant.
 CLASSIFICATION OF CHEMICAL ROCKET PROPELLANTS
• Chemical propellants can be classified according to their respective
physical states, namely, liquid, solid, gel, or hybrid, as shown in
Figure 6.1.
• Generally, in solid propellants, fuel and oxidizer are stored and mixed
together in a solid form. solid propellant needs to have a minimum
ignition temperature for ignition to occur.
• Solid propellants can be broadly divided into two categories, namely,
homogeneous and heterogeneous, based on the distribution of fuel
and oxidizer in the propellant, as shown in Figure 6.1.
• In the case of homogeneous propellants, fuel and oxidizer are contained in
the same molecule of the propellant.
• In the case of heterogeneous propellants, solid fuel and oxidizer retain their
respective physical identities.
• Homogeneous propellants are further classified into two categories: (1)
single base and (2) double base.
• Generally, a single base propellant is a single compound that contains both
fuel and oxidizer.
• An example of a single-base propellant is nitrocellulose, which has both
oxidative and reduction capabilities, whereas, double-base propellants
consist of two components.
• The most widely used double-base propellants are made of nitrocellulose
(NC) and nitroglycerine (NG), of course, with a few additives.
• Heterogeneous propellants are also known as composite propellants, which
consist of a fuel and oxidizer mixture.
• Generally, mineral salt is used as an oxidizer, while polymer and metal
powders are used as fuel. For example, ammonium perchlorate (NH4 ClO4) as
an oxidizer and polybutadienes with metal powders as fuel are commonly
used as composite propellant in solid-propellant rocket engines.
• Liquid propellants have several desirable characteristics over solid
propellants and hence are used particularly when higher specific
impulse is required.
• Based on the mode of ignition, liquid propellants can be classified
into two categories: (1) hypergolic and (2) non hypergolic.
• In hypergolic propellants, liquid fuel and oxidizer react
spontaneously without external ignition energy.
• For example, hydrazine can be considered as a hypergolic
propellant as it undergoes exothermic reactions and gets
decomposed into water and oxygen spontaneously while coming
in contact with suitable catalyst even in ambient temperature.
• But in the case of nonhypergolic propellants, suitable amount of
ignition energy is provided to ignite the liquid fuel and oxidizer for
combustion to take place.
• Both hypergolic and nonhypergolic propellants can be divided
further into two categories, namely, monopropellants and
bipropellants, as shown in Figure 6.1.
• Under the nonhypergolic propellant category, monopropellants can
be further classified into two categories: (1) homogeneous and (2)
composite.
• In the case of nonhypergolic monopropellants, fuel and oxidizer are
contained in the same molecule. Methyl nitrate (CH3NO3) is an
example of a simple nonhypergolic monopropellant.
• But in the case of composite nonhypergolic monopropellants, a
mixture of fuel and oxidizer is used. Amyl acetate (C7 H14 O2 ) and
nitric acid (HNO3) can be considered as composite nonhypergolic
monopropellant.
• In order to enhance specific impulse with higher metal loading and
overcome the problems of sloshing during flight of the liquid-
propellant rocket engine, liquid fuel is converted into gel.
• Generally, gel propellant acts like solid and becomes liquid when
subjected to a higher shear rate.
• A combination of solid and liquid is termed as hybrid propellant,
which is being used in ram rocket engine in recent times
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PROPELLANTS
• All types of chemical propellants based on physical entity have
their own desirable characteristics for high-level performance.
• Each propellant must have higher energetic properties that
ensure higher heat release rate, accompanied by high combustion
temperature, characteristic velocity, and specific impulse.
• Besides this, the propellant must have high ballistic properties,
namely, low density, higher ignitability, performance
reproducibility, and least combustion instability.
• Using low-density propellants means that larger storage tanks will
be required, thus increasing the mass of the launch vehicle.
• Other properties, namely, storage stability, less prone to explosion
hazard, smokeless exhaust, low price, and easy processing are
some of the desirable characteristics of propellants.
The common desirable properties of chemical propellants are as
follows:
 Propellant must have high chemical energy release so that it can
have higher combustion temperature leading to high characteristic
velocity C*.
 It can have low molecular weight of combustion product leading to
high exhaust velocity Ve and thus can have high specific impulse Isp.
 It can have a high density such that large amount of chemical
energy can be stored in the smallest volume and thus can have a
compact design.
 Easy to ignite even under low-pressure condition.
 Physically and chemically stable with respect to time.
 Smoke-free and nontoxic in nature.
 Easy and expensive to manufacture and handle during operation.
 Easily available and low price.
 Less prone to explosion hazard.
 Low emission level.
 SOLID PROPELLANTS
• Any solid propellant usually consists of fuel, oxidizer, and
additives. Fuel and oxidizer are principal ingredients.
• Additives are used in very low percentage to enhance
the burning rate, control fabrication process, minimize
temperature sensitivity, to ensure chemical/physical
stability during storage, to increase mechanical
properties, and so on.
• Generally, solid propellants are designed for specific
applications, namely, sounding rocket, missile, launch
vehicle, gas generator, and so on.

SOLID PROPELLANT ROCKET

The desirable properties of solid propellants are enumerated as
follows:
 Solid propellant must have higher heating value to have higher
combustion temperature, leading to high characteristic velocity
C*.
 Propellant combustion products should have low molecular
weight to have high exhaust velocity Ve leading to high specific
impulse Isp.
 It should have a high density such that large amount of chemical
energy can be stored in the smallest volume and thus can have a
compact design.
 Easy to ignite even under low pressure condition. But it must not
ignite due to shock or pressure pulses.
 Its constituents should be easy to handle.
 Constituents of propellants must be locally available and cost-
effective.
The desirable properties of solid propellants are enumerated as
follows:
• Processing of propellant should be simple and reproducible in
nature.
• Properties of propellant grain must not be physically and chemically
unstable during storage and transport. Propellant grain
• must be inexpensive to manufacture and easy to handle during
operation.
• Solid propellant grain must not react with atmospheric air/moisture.
• Propellant grain must have high mechanical strength.
• It must be smoke-free and nontoxic in nature.
• It must be less prone to explosion hazard.

As discussed, solid propellants fall mainly into two categories: (1)

homogeneous and (2) heterogeneous propellants, depending upon the
physical entities of fuel and oxidizer in the propellant.
Various types of homogeneous and heterogeneous solid propellants
are discussed in the following.
Homogeneous Solid Propellants
• In homogeneous propellants (also known as colloidal propellants),
the oxidizing and reducing groups are present in the same molecule.
• They are thermoplastic in nature and are generally smokeless.
• The homogeneous propellants are mainly classified as single base
and double base.
• Single-base propellants, which contain only NC, are mainly used as
gun propellants. NC [(C6 H7 O2–(ONO2 )3]n in gelatinized form
constitutes the main ingredient in these propellants.
• NC is basically cellulose nitrate, which is produced by nitrating the
cellulose materials [(C6 H7 O2 (OH)3 )n] using a nitrating agent (e.g.,
nitric acid) as per the following chemical reaction.
• The cellulose material mainly consists of a linear chain of
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
• During this process of nitration, certain portion of hydroxyl
radical (OH) in the cellulose is replaced with nitrate radical
ONO2.
• Double-base propellants are made by plasticizing NC with an
energetic compound like NG.
• NG is formed from glycerin/polyol (alcohol containing
multiple hydroxyl group; e.g., propane triol; C 3H5(OH)3) by
replacing OH with nitrate radical ONO2.
• The chemical structure of NG is shown in the following:
Heterogeneous Propellants
• A heterogeneous propellant is one in which solid crystalline oxidizer
(e.g., ammonium perchlorate NH4ClO4) and organic fuel, and metallic
fuel powders are held together in a plastic (rubber) matrix.
• Generally, an organic plastic binder (fuel) surrounds the fine
crystalline oxidizer particle.
• Note that this organic fuel acts as the main fuel component. Its main
function is to produce heat while undergoing overall exothermic
chemical reaction.
• Generally, this fuel is known as the binder because it binds the metal
powders, solid crystalline and other ingredients in the propellant
grain.
• As this kind of propellant is heterogeneous in nature, it is also termed
as composite propellants (CP).
• Plasticizers, stabilizers, curing agent, bonding agents, burn rate
catalysts, combustion instability suppressant, and antioxidants are
used in small percentage (%) in CP.
 SOLID PROPELLANTS
• Solid-propellant rocket engines (SPREs) have been used for various purposes
and are historically believed to have been mastered by the Chinese and Indians
after the invention of black powder.
• In the recent past, SPREs have undergone significant improvements. Hence,
they have currently found a wide range of applications in the form of various
propulsive devices, namely, spacecraft, missiles, aircraft, retro-rockets, and also
gas-generating systems.
• They can easily provide thrust ranging from a few milli-Newtons to mega-
Newtons.
• SPREs are preferred over other chemical rocket engines, particularly whenever
high reliability, quick operational readiness, and simple storage are required.
• Note that the SPRE does not contain any moving parts unlike the liquid-
propellant rocket engine (LPRE; unless a thrust vector control system is used).
On several occasions, it is also called a solid-propellant rocket motor.
• Hence, we will use these two terminologies, namely, motor and engine,
interchangeably.
• In SPREs, the propellant is contained in the combustion chamber as a block of a
certain shape, known as the grain.
• The propellant grain can be entirely stored in the combustion chamber for a
longer period of time, even in the range of 5–15 years. These engines can be
designed from very low (2 N) to high (10,000 kN) thrust levels.
• As a result, they find applications in satellite launchers, ballistic missiles,
sounding rockets, assisted take-off, air-launched missiles, antitank weapons, and
retrorockets.
• Whenever very high thrusts are required for a short period of time (booster
phase), SPREs are preferred over other two chemical rocket systems.
• With improvements in propellant chemistry and processing, it is possible to
extend their operation and hence find applications during the sustainer phase as
well.
• Even for a fairly long period of burning time, the SPRE system becomes lighter
compared to an LPRE as the propellant stored within the combustion chamber
gets consumed. Hence, it is employed for designing missiles.
• Note that its wall is protected from heating by the solid propellant itself.
• Due to its high reliability, even beyond 99%, and light weight, it has been used in
antitank and antiaircraft missiles.
• The pressure in the combustion chamber of an SPRE is generally much higher
compared to that in the LPREs and thus it has a higher thrust coefficient.
• Some of the characteristic features of an SPRE are (1) high density, (2) specific
impulse in the range of 210–290 s (vacuum), (3) simple system and (4) no
control over oxidizer to fuel ratio (O/F) once ignited.
• Note that the burning rate depends on the propellant composition and is
sensitive to chamber conditions like pressure and temperature.
• These are to be seen in relation to liquid and hybrid rockets where higher
performance is possible at the expense of simplicity.
BASIC CONFIGURATION
• The main components of a typical solid rocket
engine, shown in Figure.
• It consists of propellant grain, an igniter, a motor
casing, a thermal insulator, a nozzle, and a thrust
terminator.
• Generally, the motor casing that supports the
propellant grain is made of high strength and
temperature-resistant materials, and is coated with
organic materials that not only act as a thermal
insulator but also offer light bonding between the
propellant grain and the chamber wall.
• The casing of the rocket engine is generally made
of metal, namely, steel, titanium, and aluminum
alloys that can withstand a high level of stress,
particularly at high pressure and temperature.

• In recent times, designers have started using fiber-reinforced composite materials,

which are much lighter than metal casing.
• The propellant grain of a particular shape is used to produce a certain type of thrust
and time profile.
• The propellant grain in a typical solid rocket engine amounts to around 85% of the
rocket engine’s total mass.
• The propellant grain is supported generally by a wall, or retainer push
(thermal insulators), or special grids or traps.
• The other main components of the motor are the insulated nozzle and
the igniter. An igniter is generally mounted upstream of a combustion
chamber, as shown in Figure
• Its main function is to initiate the burning of the solid propellant.
• In order to initiate combustion, the igniter is switched on to produce hot
gas with metal particles, which makes the virgin burning surface of the
solid-propellant grains burn.
• Of course, even if combustion is initiated successfully, the igniter cannot
be turned off till it is burnt out completely.
• In a modern SPRE, a blowout diaphragm is employed to terminate its
operation even before complete burning of the entire grain. As a result, it
is possible now to shut down the operation of the SPRE.
• The high-pressure and high-temperature gas produced due to the
burning of the propellant in the combustion chamber is expanded
through the CD nozzle to produce thrust.
 PHYSICAL PROCESSES OF SOLID-PROPELLANT BURNING
• The burning of the solid propellant in the SPRE involves several complex
processes including phase change, high-speed flow, chemical reactions,
heat transfer, and mass transfer.
• The processes involved in the burning of the propellant as depicted in
Figure. BURNING PROCESSES DURING SOLID-PROPELLANT BURNING
• Generally, a flame is
formed near the solid
surface due to the gas
phase exothermic
reaction.
• Thus, heat from the
flame (reaction) is
transported to the
propellant surface by
three modes of heat
transfer: conduction,
convection, and
• The heat carried to the propellant surface is partially used for melting,
evaporation, or sublimation of the propellant and some portion of the heat is
conducted into the propellant to help raise its inner temperature.
• The heat energy helps in decomposing the solid into a gaseous state by a
process known as pyrolysis (thermal decomposition).
• Besides this, there are also phase changes involving either exothermic or
endothermic reactions.
• The gases coming out of the propellant surface mix and undergo chemical
exothermic reactions within a very narrow zone, thus forming a flame near the
propellant burning surface.
• From this, one can imagine the complex processes involved during solid-
propellant burning.
• It may be noted that when the upper layer of the propellant is converted into
gases, the virgin propellant is simultaneously getting prepared by heat
conduction to decompose into gases, leading to regression of the propellant
surface. Thus, we need to know the regression/burning rate of the propellant.
• This regression rate r° (mm/s) is defined as the distance traveled per second by
the regression front, perpendicular to the burning surface of the propellant
grain, assuming that the ignition is homogeneous.
DOUBLE-BASE PROPELLANTS
(a) Mechanism of Burning
• The processes involved during the burning of a double-base (DB) propellant, which
has a distinct mode of combustion, are depicted in Figure. As the DB propellant is
homogeneous in nature, it is expected to have a one-dimensional homogeneous
combustion flame structure along the burning direction.
• However, four distinct zones, as shown in the figure, have been observed in
experiments, particularly at low and moderate combustion chamber pressure.
These are (1) the foam zone, (2) the fizz zone, (3) the dark zone, and (4) the flame
zone.
• The burning process of double-base propellants is illustrated in Fig. The propellant
surface, when heated, degrades exothermally in the solid phase. This zone of
decomposition within the solid is known as the ‘foam’ zone.
• Gases like NO2, NO and aldehydes are liberated during the decomposition. The
aldehydes comprise hydrogen attached to the carbonyl group [C==O—H] to give
compounds such as formaldehyde H—C==O—H, acetaldehyde CH3—C==O—H, etc.
• The gases (NO2, NO and aldehydes) mix near the surface of the propellant and
chemically react to liberate heat.
• The major reaction is between NO2 and the aldehydes, where CO and CO2 are
formed. The zone of gas phase reaction is known as the ‘fizz’ zone. Temperature
increases in this zone and the zone is highly luminescent.
Different Zones of Combustion
• An increase from the surface temperature of the propellant TS to T1 takes place,
which is indicated in Fig.
• In the range of chamber pressures of interest, viz., less than about 10 MPa, the
luminous fizz zone is followed by a dark zone in which chemical reactions between
NO & CO and NO & NH2 take place.
• There is no significant increase in temperature here. This zone is followed by a
second luminous flame zone wherein chemical reactions proceed further with
heat liberation.
• Temperature rises in this zone from T1 to the final value Tf
• The extent of the three zones is very small (order of fraction of mm) and depends
very much on pressure.
• The thickness of the foam zone is much smaller than the fizz zone and dark zone.
• The intermediate dark zone is at a lower temperature T 1 than the final
temperature Tf .
• This causes the overall temperature gradient in the gas phase near the propellant
surface to be small and thereby limit the heat transfer from the flame at
temperature Tf to the surface of the propellant.
• When the pressure exceeds about 10 MPa, the primary fizz zone merges with the
second luminous zone, giving rise to increased heating of the propellant from the
hot gases.
Composite Propellant Combustion
• We know that, unlike a DB propellant, the physical structure of a composite
propellant (CP) is heterogeneous in nature. Hence, it is expected to have a
heterogeneous combustion wave structure.
• Several models for combustion of CPs have been proposed by various
researchers. However, we will discuss a model for CP combustion proposed
by Beackstead, Dherr, and Price (BDP), which advocates a triple-flame
structure as shown in Figure.
• In this model, let us consider a single CP consisting of an oxidizer
(ammonium perchlorate, AP) surrounded by polymeric fuel (binder) as
shown in Figure.
• When the propellant surface is heated, the AP crystal embedded in the fuel
gets decomposed into oxidizing gases while fuel is pyrolyzed to form
hydrocarbon vapors.
• Note that the initial decomposition steps of both fuel and oxidizer at the
propellant surface are endothermic. Sometimes a liquid layer is formed on
the surface of the propellant.
• Note that either set of products formed during the condensed phase
reactions of AP and fuel can result in less endothermic or exothermic
reactions at the solid surface.
 Various zones during the burning of a composite propellant.

• Generally, the overall reaction on the burning surface happens to be

exothermic in nature.
• The products formed during the overall endothermic reaction get mixed and
undergo chemical reaction downstream of the regression surface.
• As mentioned, the BDP model for a CP advocates the occurrence of a triple-
flame structure during the burning of the composite propellant as shown in
Figure. Let us discuss the causes for these flames during the burning process
of the CP.
• When the chamber pressure is above 1.9 MPa, AP can decompose and form
oxidizer-rich products following chemical reactions at about 1400 K.
• At around 0.7 MPa of pressure, the AP decomposes and combines with
fuel (binder) to establish a premixed flame above the oxidized crystal as
shown in Figure, which is often known as an AP monopropellant flame
(APPF). This APPF can be approximated as a one-dimensional premixed
flame.
• Note that at lower pressure, the decomposed products of both fuel and
oxidizer get sufficient time to mix before chemical reactions take place,
forming this APFF.
• But at high pressure, chemical reaction time is small and mixing of fuel
with oxidizer will limit the combustion process, resulting in the formation
of a diffusion flame.
• At the same time, the fuel undergoes a pyrolysis process and produces
CH2, CH4, C, and so on.
• These fuels products are mixed with HClO4 products to produce
combustion products as per the following representative chemical
reaction.
• As the chamber pressure increases, the fuel products find it difficult to
diffuse easily and mix with the oxidizer stream.
• As a result, two reaction paths, namely, (1) oxidizing products and
ammonia from AP decomposition and (2) fuel (binder) products and AP
oxidizing products become competitive.
• At higher pressure, chemical reactions are quite fast and thus oxidizer
products react with ammonia to form a premixed flame before the binder
products can mix with the oxidizer products.
• However, at the interface of oxidizer and fuel, a certain portion of the
oxidizing products come into contact with the fuel pyrolysis products, and
thus a Primary Diffusion Flame (PDF) is formed at a temperature of 2800 K
and all pressure, as shown in Figure.
• But at high pressure, the characteristic time for the gas phase reaction
decreases and effects of PDF on regression rate decrease as APF and
PDF almost merge into a single flame.
• Note that during APF formation, a large portion (around 30%) of oxidizer
products remains unburnt as this flame is oxidizer-rich.
• These unburnt oxidizer products at 1400 K get mixed with fuel-rich
pyrolysis products and undergo fast chemical reactions.
• As a result, a secondary diffusion flame (SDF) is formed, as shown in
Figure with a maximum temperature of 3200 K, which provides a large
amount of heat to the regression surface, particularly at low pressure.
• But at high pressure, the effect of the SDF on the burning rate becomes
less as its standoff distance increases compared to the APPF.
• Note that the diffusion of fuel and oxidizer becomes slower compared to
the reaction, thus limiting the burning process.
• In summary, the entire burning process of the CP consists of one
premixed flame (APPF) and two diffusion flames (PDF and SDF), which
occur around 0.2–0.5 mm above the regression surface.
• The thickness of the combustion zone decreases with an increase in
chamber pressure.
• The size and nature of the flames are affected by the size of AP
particles.
• With a reduction in the size of AP particles, smaller flames are formed
above the regression surface and thus high but uniform temperature
distribution prevails on the regression surface.
• As a result, a higher burning rate can be achieved due to an increase in
heat transfer from flame to regression surface.
MEASUREMENT OF PROPELLANT BURNING/REGRESSION RATE
• The processes involved during propellant burning are quite
complex. Hence, it is quite difficult to predict accurately the
regression rate r° of a solid propellant on a theoretical basis.
• Although several researchers have attempted to predict burning
rate by modeling the physical processes involved in propellant
burning, they have achieved very limited success in specific cases.
• Rather, an empirical relationship based on experimental data has
been developed, which is being used to design and develop solid-
propellant rocket motors.
• The linear burning rate depends on the pressure of the chamber,
since gas phase reaction rates play a major role in providing heat to
the burning surface.
• Generally, the linear burning/regression rate r° can be measured
experimentally in two ways, by using (1) a strand burner, also
known as a Crawford bomb, and (2) Ballistic Evaluation Motor
(BEM) over a certain range of pressure.
• Note that the BEM is basically a scaled-down model of a full-size
rocket (1:10) and burn rates are inferred from the pressure–time
plots.
• But the strand (Crawford) burner is the most widely used method
for obtaining the linear burning rate r°.
• For both methods, the experimental burning rate r° is empirically
related to variables in order to commensurate with full-scale tests.
• The schematic of a typical strand burner is depicted in Figure. It
consists of a high-pressure chamber (bomb), long and thin strands
with propellant holder to hold the propellant vertically, high-
pressure N2 gas cylinder and pipeline, igniter, surge tank, and so
on.
• The propellant strand (5 mm diameter or 5 × 5 mm2 size and 100–
250 mm length) is mounted on a strand holder in a closed bomb.
• This propellant strand must be inhibited laterally such that it can
regress one-dimensionally like a cigarette burning.
SCHEMATIC OF STRAND BURNER SETUP. PRV, PRESSURE
REGULATING VALVE
• In order to pressurize the combustion bomb by N2 gas cylinders, an inlet port
with a pressure regulator and controlling valve is used as shown in Figure.
• The outlet port from the bomb is connected to a surge tank through a valve to
maintain the desired pressure in it.
• During the burning of the propellant, the pressure inside the bomb may increase
but has to be maintained at a constant with the help of a surge tank.
• The initial ignition of the propellant is accomplished using a resistance coil
placed on the top of the strand.
• As the propellant surface gets regressed downward, the decrease in the length
of the propellant is measured either using the fuse-wire technique or by
photography.
• In the fuse-wire method, embedded wire in the propellant strand provides a
signal on the successive arrival of the burning front.
• By measuring the precise time taken by the front to reach each predetermined
wire position in the strand, the average regression rate of the propellant can be
easily determined.
• In the case of the photography method, the regression front movement is
identified with time from the videographs that are used to determine the
regression/ burning rate.
• Inhibitors are used around the propellant circumference to ensure that
the burning of the propellant takes place along the height of the strand,
thus providing the linear burning rate.
• Of course, a certain portion of the heat produced by its combustion is
utilized for melting the thin layer of inhibitor, thus lowering the actual
burning rate.
• Hence, it is important to compare the burning rate data from the strand
burner with those of the BEM.
• For this purpose, a small-end burning rocket engine with a grain diameter
of 5–10 cm can be used to measure the burning rate.
• In a BEM, the effects of pressure on burning rate can be obtained using
different sizes of nozzles to vary the chamber pressure.
• Generally, the regression rate of a propellant from a strand burner
matches well with that of the BEM.
• But for certain cases, the regression rate of the strand burner/ BEM
differs by even as much as 8%–12% from the regression rate prevailing in
the actual rocket engine, which can be attributed to specific grain
geometry and effects of turbulence and radiation heat transfer.
In an actual rocket engine, the burning rate r° of a
propellant depends not only on its composition, but
also on the following conditions prevailing during
the operation of the SPRE, which are discussed in
the following sections
1. Chamber pressure Pc as gas phase reaction plays
an important role in providing heat to the
propellant burning surface
2. Initial temperature of the propellant
3. Combustion gas temperature
4. Flow of hot gases on the propellant surface
5. Motor acceleration and spinning
 SOLID-PROPELLANT ROCKET ENGINE OPERATION
• We know that the SPRE filled with gas from burning propellant grain with the
help of an ignition system can be conceived as a pressure vessel, which
produces thrust when its high-temperature, high-pressure gas is expanded
through the exhaust nozzle.
• Combustion is restricted to the selected areas of the propellant grain. When a
propellant grain is ignited, heat liberated during ignition is transferred by the
combination of conduction, convection, and radiation to the unburnt propellant.
Ignition of a Solid Propellant
• We know that ignition in an SPRE is a transient process by which burning of
solid-propellant grain is initiated, leading to self-sustained combustion.
• This is a very critical phenomenon as the success of a rocket engine is
dependent on the successful initiation of combustion, particularly during flight.
• Ignition must take only a fraction of a second during which local ignition of the
propellant occurs, leading to the spread of the flame along the propellant grain
surface, building up the chamber pressure.
• In a successful ignition, the chamber pressure increases with time to an
equilibrium value as shown in Figure.
• The processes involved during the ignition of a solid propellant include a series
of complex rapid events.
DESCRIPTION OF IGNITION PROCESS IN A SOLID-PROPELLANT ROCKET ENGINE
• Generally, three types of energy stimuli, namely, thermal (conduction,
convection, and radiation heat transfer), chemical (e.g., hypergolic liquid),
and mechanical (e.g., high-velocity impact), are used for the ignition of a
solid propellant.
• Once the solid propellant receives energy stimuli, it can transfer heat to an
adjacent surface, which is known as inert heating.
• After this period of inert heating, a certain portion of the solid phase starts
disintegrating around the local ignition point due to pyrolysis. In some
cases, a molten layer is formed on the solid surface.
• The gasification of this layer or direct sublimation of the solid propellant can
also take place due to a number of processes, such as heat conduction,
absorption of radiation below the surface, chemical reactions below the
surface, and surface pyrolysis.
• Note that chemical reactions can take place either in the gas phase
(homogeneous reaction) or solid/liquid phase (heterogeneous reaction).
Some of these reactions can be exothermic and some endothermic in
nature.
• But the sum total of heat release during these chemical reactions must be
higher than the total heat loss for achieving a steady ignition, leading to
successful initiation of self-sustained combustion of a solid propellant.
• Of course, there will be an increase in temperature of the virgin solid
propellant and heat losses due to convection and radiation.
• In the end, a runaway condition is achieved when the local flame spreads
over the entire propellant grain surface by filling the entire chamber with
high-temperature product gas and thus the combustion chamber attains
its equilibrium pressure.
• This is generally accompanied by high chemical reaction rates, heat
release, and steady burning of the solid propellant.
• All these processes in actual rocket engines take place within a few
microseconds to milliseconds.
• The entire ignition process can be broadly divided into three phases—(1)
induction phase, (2) flame spreading, (3) chamber filling—as depicted in
Figure by considering typical pressure–time history curves for two cases:
(1) low Ap/At and (2) high Ap/At ratio.
• Just after the ignition phase of an internally burning grain is complete, gas
velocity along the burning surface becomes very high so that heat transfer
to the propellant surface gets enhanced considerably, leading to the
occurrence of erosive burning as discussed earlier.
• Note that erosive burning is likely to take place for low Ap/At ratio as shown
in Figure.
• Note that phase I in this figure indicates ignition time lag, which is caused
by inert heating of the virgin propellant.
• The ignition time lag is defined as the time period between initiation of
ignition stimuli and first burning of the grain surface. During this inert
heating, pressure remains almost constant at a very low value.
• Phase II is the flame-spreading interval that spans from the first local
ignition of the grain surface till entire surface is ignited along with flame
spreading.
• Phase III, the chamber-filling interval, is the time required to reach
equilibrium pressure.
• The successful attainment of equilibrium chamber pressure is dependent
on (1) igniter composition, and its gas temperature; (2) flow created due
to igniter; (3) heat transfer due to convection, and radiation between
igniter gas and grain surface; (4) propellant composition; (5) flame-
spreading rate over grain surface; and (6) the dynamics of filling the
chamber volume with hot gas.
• In short, the heat transfer gas phase mixing (consisting of both diffusion
and convection) and chemical kinetics are the key processes that
influence the final ignition.
• In other words, the ignition delay, time elapsed between applications of external
stimuli and steady burning, is dependent on three characteristic times: (1) inert
heating time, (2) mixing time, and (3) reaction time. Ignition delay is an
important parameter in propellant combustion.
• Experimental results have shown that ignition delay (tig), defined as the time
lapse from the firing signal to the chamber pressure attains 10%–20% of the
motor peak pressure, and varies inversely with the incident heat flux (Q″) in the
form tig ~ 1/(Q″)n with n ranging from 1.5 to 3.
• Besides this, the rate of heat flux and time of ignition are also dependent on the
gaseous composition over the burning surface, the gas pressure above, and
gas velocity across the propellant surface.
• During this ignition process, several situations may arise as depicted in Figure
Misfire (curve A in Figure) is likely to occur when heat withdrawal from the
propellant surface by conduction exceeds the net heat generated by the
exothermic reactions.
• The ignition can be termed as normal only when it leads to a smooth and rapid
pressure transition to steady-state burning as depicted in Figure (see curve D).
• However, if the ignition energy is too strong, it can result in high initial pressure
peaks (curve B in Figure). This situation must be avoided as it may result in
fissure of grains due to the formation of shocks and impact forces.
• In contrast, low ignition energy may lead to hang fire, and chuffing (see
curve C in Figure 7.14) due to lower chamber pressure, which must be
Action Time and Burn Time
• A typical variation of chamber pressure with time is shown in Figure. It may
be noted that chamber pressure changes very slowly over a small period of
time, which is known as ignition delay time td.
• Beyond this time period, chamber pressure rises rapidly due to the
generation of burnt gases as a result of combustion of propellants in both
igniter and main propellant.
• Generally, igniter propellant mass contributes to 30% of the pressure rise in
the initial phase. On the burning of the propellant, the chamber pressure
builds up and attains a stable operating condition as shown in Figure.
• In some cases, particularly for upper-stage rocket engines, for successful
ignition of the solid propellant, chamber pressure has to be built up rapidly
by sealing the nozzle with a rupture disk, which is designed to fail at a
predetermined pressure, typically 70%–90% of the operating pressure.
• If higher ignition energy is used, the propellant grain generates an excess
amount of combustible gas that leads to abnormal ignition as shown in
Figure. The time duration corresponding to 90% of ignition pressure (point
B in Figure) is known as the ignition time tig.
• Subsequently, the chamber pressure drops to the steady-state pressure
value, which remains almost constant as shown in Figure for the major
portion of its operation.
Description of combustion phenomena in Description of combustion phenomena in a
a solid-propellant rocket engine in terms solid-propellant rocket engine in terms of
of chamber pressure and time. chamber pressure and time.
• In some cases chamber pressure keeps increasing or decreasing or
remains constant depending on the variation in the burning area of grain
with time.
• Toward the end of propellant burning, the chamber pressure slowly drops
to ambient pressure as shown in Figure as all of the propellant is almost
burnt out except the residual portion known as sliver, which cannot be
utilized for developing any thrust.
• This portion of the curve that indicates the end of the burning phase is
known as the tail-off phase.
• Note that the tail-off phase becomes slower, particularly for highly
loaded propellant grain, in which case erosive burning is likely to
take place.
• The intersecting point between the tangent to grain burning and
the tangent to the tail-off phase is labeled as point C in Figure,
which indicates the end of the burning phase.
• Hence, the total burning time is defined as the time between point
A and point C (see Figure).
• The rocket can provide thrust beyond the end of propellant burning
till the chamber pressure becomes equal to around 10% P ig (point
A in Figure).
• Hence, the action time ta is defined as the time duration between
the ignition delay time (point A) and the time corresponding to 10%
Pig on the tail-off curve (point D in Figure).
• Note that the action time is always more than the burning time t b .
The difference between action time and burning time is more
predominant (4%–6%) in the case of highly loaded erosive burning
grain compared to small erosive burning grain (1%–2%).