Combustion and flame spreading phenomena in gas-permeable explosive materials

Combustion and flame spreading in gas-permeable beds of solid propellant grains are analyzed in this paper. A theoretical model based on continuum mechanics concepts is first formulated. The Lax-Wendroff finite difference technique is then used to generate some numerical solutions. The sensitivity of the model to propellant characteristics, heat transfer and drag correlations, and propellant bed packing density is established by the numerical results. It is concluded that propellant properties, particularly the energy release rate and the burning rate index, are the most critical parameters in this problem. The lack of adequate heat transfer and drag correlations for reactive flows is also noted.