The closed bomb test for the assessment of solid propellant grains utilized in guns

This paper reviews the concept of closed bomb testing of propellant grains in order to determine the applicability of such propellant testing for prediction in guns. An analysis of the closed bomb with certain simplifying assumptions is presented. This analysis is shown to satisfactorily predict the pressure history in the closed bomb. A propellant grain parameter sensitivity analysis is conducted to show the sensitivity of the pressure history and the muzzle velocity data. The importance of detailing the proper grain geometry so as not to reflect an incorrect burning rate is demonstrated. The·muzzle velocity is found to be linearly correlated to the magnitude of the relative quickness. It is also shown not to vary much when the propellant grain parameters are adjusted to give the same RQ.