Chemical propellants

R. L. WiUtias, Theoretical Evaluation of Chemical Propellants, Preatice Hall, lac.. New York, 1963. 

I. Classman R.F. Sawyer, The Performance of Chemical Propellants , AGARD-ograph No 129 (1970)... 

Glassman, I., and Sawyer, R., The Performance of Chemical Propellants. Technivision, Slough, England, 1971. 

Asahi Kasei Chemicals Propellant Combustion Laboratory Area East, Kinshi 3-2-1, Sumidaku Tokyo 130-6591, Japan... 

R.L. Wilkins, "Theoretical Evaluation of Chemical Propellants , Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (1968) 436pp... 

The primary parameter which indicates the merit of a chemical propellant is the specific impulse, Zs, which is defined as the ratio of the... 

Noble Gas-Oxygen Compounds. Since the discovery in 1962 that the noble gases are not truly chemically inert, propellant chemists became intrigued with the possibility that they could serve as excellent carriers of oxygen (and fluorine) and thus generate a new family of chemical propellants. While the importance of this discovery to chemistry cannot be underestimated, so far it has not led to the preparation of new compounds as significant rocket oxidizers. 

Compared with the almost limitless number of chemical compounds that exist or can be formed, the number of chemical propellants in common use is relatively few. This situation arises from criteria including costs, source availability, toxicity, resistance to shock, and other requirements imposed by the vehicle application and the propulsion system design. Another practical reason is that extensive overlap of physical, chemical, and economic properties are displayed by many of the theoretically possible propellants. During the 1960s, the universities, industry, and government in the United States pursued extensive research programs for synthesizing new chemical compounds viewed as candidate propellants,... 

The first part of Chapter II is tutorial in nature and lays the background thought to be necessary for the discussion and analysis in the latter chapters. The material on non-equilibrium effects included in this chapter and Chapter IH is perhaps one of the more complete coverages of this subject to be presented in a book. The performance of chemical propellants is then analyzed in the last two chapters. In particular, the authors hope that the readers will find the Postface a useful and stimulating summary of most of the major points made throughout the text. 

This monograph is not an attempt to review all chemical propellants and their performance. On the contrary, the whole point of this endeavor is that such a review is not necessary and that by adapting fundamental thinking with respect to the basic thermochemistry, kinetics and fluid mechanics it is possible to characterize quite readily a particular propellant for a particular propulsion scheme (1). 

Those entrusted with the development of propellant systems frequently have attempted to gain insight from new analyses, only to find the fundamental conceptual results of the analyses obscured in non-understandable detail. Correspondingly, many books which have appeared report and analyze the performance of chemical propellants (9 through 13). Yet rarely is an attempt made to explain why the performance results of the analyses are oriented as they are. This monograph is an attempt to state clearly the important concepts of propellant evaluation and to answer the important question of why Why is one propellant better than another, why does the point of maximum specific impulse shift towards stoichiometric mixture ratio as the chamber pressure is increased, why doesn t one obtain equilibrium chamber product concentrations with certain monopropellants, etc ... 

There can be many approaches to the systematic evaluation of the performance of chemical propellants. The one presented here has been used effectively by the authors and it is their hope that the readers will benefit accordingly. 

Current common practice is to divide chemical propellants into four classes liquids, solids, hybrids and thixotropes or gels. 

In rocket technology, a collective term for all chemical propellants. 

Rocket power plants use the heat liberated by the reaction of chemical propellants, liquid or solid, as the source of energy. Specific impulse is more in liq propint applications it is difficult to accurately measure the propellant flow rate of solid-propellant-rocket thrust producing units. The average specific impulse is occasionally calculated for solid-propellant units on the basis of thrust, duration, and proplnt wt, hut there are other parameters that are more convenient. Modem rocket power plants are capable of obtaining specific impulse values between 240-250 lb/(lb/sec) 1... 

Gun systems for accelerating large masses (greater than 5 kg) to low velocity using chemical propellants similar to those used in artillery, usually associated with timing, velocity, and other diagnostics. 

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