| The qualitative multidimensional theory of composite solid propellant combustion based on the sandwich burning methodology was applied to certain specific problems: (a) burning rate enhancement by ferric oxide, (b) plateau burning behavior caused by binder melt flow effects, and (c) characterization of the combustion of new energetic oxidizers--ADN and HNIW.; Exothermic reactions at the interfacial contact lines between AP particles and the binder in the surface layer of the burning propellant assume significance in the presence of ferric oxide, and control the burning rate. Binder melt flow covers adjacent AP particle surfaces increasingly at higher pressures, and disperses the O/F leading edge flames attached to coarse particles. It also causes fine AP/binder matrix areas on the surface not to support a steady premixed flame at intermediate pressures, resulting in an overall decrease in the burning rate with increasing pressure, which implies plateau or mesa effects. ADN self-deflagration rate is significantly higher than that of AP, and controls the sandwich burning rate to a great extent. The O/F flame of ADN and binder still behaves as rate limiting, although strongly supported by ADN self-deflagration. ADN melts and vaporizes substantially before the binder, allowing for the possibility of complex physical processes in the surface layer. The strong exothermic decomposition of HNIW at moderate temperatures causes the oxidizer particles in the surface layer to be the sites of burning rate control. The problems addressed in this study combinedly point to the significance of crucial surface layer processes under the situations of interest, and signal a need to characterize such processes directly and in greater detail. |
