Title: dc arc discharge ignition and combustion control of solid propellants
Abstract: The feasibility of ignition and combustion control of solid propellants by dc arc discharge was empirically examined. In this experiment Al/Teflon composite propellants and a conventional HTPB/AP/A1 composite propellant were studied. It was shown that the dc arc discharge coupled with a high-frequency-discharge arc initiator works as an efficient ignition method for solid propellants; that, for Al/Teflon propellants with appropriate O/F ratios, repeated ignitions and extinctions are possible by applying and interrupting the arc discharge; and that, for all the propellants tested, burning rates can be varied with the discharge intensity, although there exists a threshold current below which no effect on the burning rate is observed. It was observed that, for the combustion control of Al/Teflon propellants, the minimum discharge current required for sustaining combustion is lower than that required for ignition and that the former is influenced by the percentage of aluminum in the propellants (or by the heat of combustion of the propellants), while the latter has a nearly constant value. The solidpropellant system combined with arc discharges seems promising for the on-board reaction control engine when the satellite has an excess of electric power.
Publication Year: 1988
Publication Date: 1988-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 9
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