Multi-scale modeling of solid rocket motors: Time integration methods from computational aerodynamics applied to stable quasi-steady motor burning

D. Scott Stewart, K. C. Tang, Sunhee Yoo, Quinn Brewster, Igor R. Kuznetsov

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

Here we consider the problem of efficiently computing the stable burn-back of a solid rocket motor when the motor is in the quasi-steady burning regime of operation. When the motor is modeled as a cavity that is filled with a compressible fluid with normal mass, momentum and energy injection from the solid propellant surface, the problem posed is a standard one in steady computational aerodynamics. For large rockets such as the space shuttle solid rocket booster, the problem of quasi-steady solid rocket motor ballistic flow is analogous to the steady aerodynamic flow past a large aircraft such as a Boeing 575 or F15 flying at speeds such that compressible flow must be fully accounted for. One can adopt advanced time integration strategies developed for application to commercial or military aircraft to the solid rocket motor grain burning to compute a series of realizations of steady flows as the grain burns back to near completion. The slow regression of the burning solid propellant surface is analogous to the motion of control surfaces on the aircraft as it moves through a controlled maneuver. Through the use of straightforward two-timing multi-scale asymptotic analysis we develop the reduced quasi-steady description of the quasisteady burning regime for a model problem that is extensible to a full three-dimensional rocket. We discuss the application of now standard time integration methods from steady computational aerodynamics to the time-resolved computation of stable quasi-steady motor burning.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages6789-6798
Number of pages10
StatePublished - 2005
Event43rd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit - Reno, NV, United States
Duration: Jan 10 2005Jan 13 2005

Conference

Conference43rd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityReno, NV
Period1/10/051/13/05

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Engineering

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