Parametric study on taper-ended tubular solid propellant grains / Mahmoud Y. M. Ahmed

design of the solid propellant grain is a decisive aspect of the solid propellant rocket motor performance. Tubular grain design is a favorable design since it produces a high neutral (time-invariable) thrust-time profile. However, neutrality of tubular grains deteriorates as the aspect ratio of the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Y. M. Ahmed, Mahmoud
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/36346/
_version_ 1848809027115417600
author Y. M. Ahmed, Mahmoud
author_facet Y. M. Ahmed, Mahmoud
author_sort Y. M. Ahmed, Mahmoud
building UiTM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description design of the solid propellant grain is a decisive aspect of the solid propellant rocket motor performance. Tubular grain design is a favorable design since it produces a high neutral (time-invariable) thrust-time profile. However, neutrality of tubular grains deteriorates as the aspect ratio of the grain deviates from an optimum value that is dependent on the web thickness. In some cases, the undesirable phenomenon of erosive grain burning may take place. One simple solution to restore neutrality is to add taper to the ends of the grain. Loss of motor filling comes as penalty for adding these tapered ends. The grain should thus be tailored to simultaneously satisfy both desired design objectives namely, neutrality and filling. The present paper aims to address the dependence of these two design objectives on the design of a taper-ended tubular grain. The designs that are likely to yield erosive burning are also addressed. A parametric study is conducted involving the aspect ratio of the grain, its web thickness, and the taper angles on both ends. These parameters were varied, respectively, in the ranges 0.5: 5, 0.1:0.9, and 10o:90o. It was concluded that neutrality and filling of these grains are two competing objectives. The maximum neutrality is achieved using a grain with aspect ratios, web thickness, front and rear taper of 2:2.5, 0.1, 50o, and 30o, respectively. In contrast, the maximum filling can be achieved using a grain with aspect ratios and web thickness of 1:3.5 and 0.8, respectively, with no taper at both ends. A compromised grain can have aspect ratio and web thickness of 2 and 0.8, respectively, with no taper at both ends.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T23:08:05Z
format Article
id uitm-36346
institution Universiti Teknologi MARA
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-14T23:08:05Z
publishDate 2019
publisher Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling uitm-363462020-11-09T03:51:12Z https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/36346/ Parametric study on taper-ended tubular solid propellant grains / Mahmoud Y. M. Ahmed jmeche Y. M. Ahmed, Mahmoud TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery design of the solid propellant grain is a decisive aspect of the solid propellant rocket motor performance. Tubular grain design is a favorable design since it produces a high neutral (time-invariable) thrust-time profile. However, neutrality of tubular grains deteriorates as the aspect ratio of the grain deviates from an optimum value that is dependent on the web thickness. In some cases, the undesirable phenomenon of erosive grain burning may take place. One simple solution to restore neutrality is to add taper to the ends of the grain. Loss of motor filling comes as penalty for adding these tapered ends. The grain should thus be tailored to simultaneously satisfy both desired design objectives namely, neutrality and filling. The present paper aims to address the dependence of these two design objectives on the design of a taper-ended tubular grain. The designs that are likely to yield erosive burning are also addressed. A parametric study is conducted involving the aspect ratio of the grain, its web thickness, and the taper angles on both ends. These parameters were varied, respectively, in the ranges 0.5: 5, 0.1:0.9, and 10o:90o. It was concluded that neutrality and filling of these grains are two competing objectives. The maximum neutrality is achieved using a grain with aspect ratios, web thickness, front and rear taper of 2:2.5, 0.1, 50o, and 30o, respectively. In contrast, the maximum filling can be achieved using a grain with aspect ratios and web thickness of 1:3.5 and 0.8, respectively, with no taper at both ends. A compromised grain can have aspect ratio and web thickness of 2 and 0.8, respectively, with no taper at both ends. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) 2019 Article PeerReviewed text en https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/36346/1/36346.pdf Y. M. Ahmed, Mahmoud (2019) Parametric study on taper-ended tubular solid propellant grains / Mahmoud Y. M. Ahmed. (2019) Journal of Mechanical Engineering (JMechE) <https://ir.uitm.edu.my/view/publication/Journal_of_Mechanical_Engineering_=28JMechE=29.html>, 16 (1). pp. 79-98. ISSN 1823-5514 ; 2550-164X https://jmeche.uitm.edu.my/
spellingShingle TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
Y. M. Ahmed, Mahmoud
Parametric study on taper-ended tubular solid propellant grains / Mahmoud Y. M. Ahmed
title Parametric study on taper-ended tubular solid propellant grains / Mahmoud Y. M. Ahmed
title_full Parametric study on taper-ended tubular solid propellant grains / Mahmoud Y. M. Ahmed
title_fullStr Parametric study on taper-ended tubular solid propellant grains / Mahmoud Y. M. Ahmed
title_full_unstemmed Parametric study on taper-ended tubular solid propellant grains / Mahmoud Y. M. Ahmed
title_short Parametric study on taper-ended tubular solid propellant grains / Mahmoud Y. M. Ahmed
title_sort parametric study on taper-ended tubular solid propellant grains / mahmoud y. m. ahmed
topic TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
url https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/36346/
https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/36346/