Solid-Propellant Rocket Motors

Abstract

The solid-propellant rocket motor brings the flight mission capability of high thrust delivery over a short duration. Design issues, such as tailoring the shape of the solid propellant grain (charge) to produce a desired thrust-time profile, are discussed in some detail in this chapter. The burning characteristics of solid propellants as a function of pressure, core flow and acceleration, and the means for modeling this behavior, are presented. Steady and transient internal ballistic analyses for motor performance estimation are introduced. Combustion instability symptoms that occasionally appear in these motors are detailed. The chapter is closed out with some discussion on the various structural issues that have an impact on solid rocket design.