Solid Rocket Propellant Research Linda Kelly John Marshall HS-Northside ISD Faculty Mentor- Eric Petersen, Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering Dept. Texas A&M University

Solid Propellant Research Applications Rocket Fuel Offshore Drilling Deploy Air Bags

Solid Propellant Research Rocket Power = Combustion Rx NH4ClO4 = oxidizer Hydroxyl Terminated Polybutadiene hydrocabon chain = binder and fuel Isophorone Diisocyanate = curing agent additives

Solid Propellant Research Summary of methods The substances are mixed under vacuum to remove gaseous contaminants.

Solid Propellant Research Summary of methods The mixed substances are extruded under vacuum into Teflon tubing, cured, and cut into 1-inch pieces.

Solid Propellant Research Testing Samples are mounted in the high-pressure strand burner

Solid Propellant Research Testing Ignition and data collection are done remotely

Propellant Testing Video Stills from a Propellant Test

Analysis Determining Burning Rate Burning Rate DX r = Dt Dt DX

Tailor Burning Rate to Application Objective Motivation Tailor Burning Rate to Application Objective Develop Baseline Propellant of AP and Binder Utilize Additives to Modify Combustion n n r = aP r = aP Baseline Baseline

Solid Propellant Research Overview of procedure AP crystals + HC fuel… made into propellant samples ignited data collected & analyzed Where do I fit?

Solid Propellant Research Background data Variety of crystal sizes in AP

Solid Propellant Research Background data Different types of burning achieved with various sizes of particles

Solid Rocket Propellant My project Attain crystal images with microscopy and digital photography Enhance images with Photoshop Size crystals with IQMaterials software Analyze data with Excel Standardize the procedure for the size distribution in a sample of NH4ClO4 started by Matthew Janish

Solid Propellant Research My project--the beginning

Solid Propellant Research Burning questions How is AP synthesized? What is the crystalline structure—it’s not cubic, monoclinic, orthorhombic… that other crystals are? How does this supply of AP compare with previous data?

Solid Propellant Research Classroom activity Task: determine the mathematical attributes and size distribution of a sample of rocket propellant Given samples, students determine mass, volume, density, surface area, perimeter, size distribution Use appropriate units, show sample calculations, graph distribution of particles TEKS: Chemistry 1,2,3 Physics 1,2,3ACD

Solid Propellant Research Special Thanks Dr. Eric Petersen Kevin Kreitz Tom Sammet Tyler Allen Nicole, Will, Jonas, Nolan, Madeleine, Sean NSF A&M partners

Solid Propellant Research Resources Graph of burn rate and diameters from Jeppson, M.B., Beckstead M.W., Jing, Q., “A Kinetic model for the Premixed Combustion of a Fine AP/HTPB Composite Propellant,” 36th Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, 1998, AIAA Paper 98-0447. Images and information from Kevin Kreitz presentation, May 27, 2009 Images from Microsoft Office clipart Image of crystals by Matthew Janish; Ammonium Perchlorate Particle Sizing, August, 2007

That’s rocket science.