Experimental investigation of agglomeration during combustion of aluminized solid propellants in an acceleration field

Agglomeration during combustion of solid rocket propellants in an acceleration field up to 60 was studied experimental. In the experiments, the acceleration direction and magnitude were varied. The amount, chemical composition, and particle size of the agglomerates and the structure of the surface layer were determined as functions of the acceleration magnitude and direction. The most significant feature of the effect of tensile accelerations is an increase in the agglomerate mass to a certain limiting value, and that of compressive accelerations is the formation of a layer of condensed products on the burning-propellant surface. The data obtained provide a deeper understanding of the general physical picture of agglomerate formation and aluminized-propellant combustion and highlight the range of engine operation problems under flight conditions due to the presence of condensed combustion products.