Recent progress in modeling solid propellant combustion

Tremendous progress has been achieved in the last ten years with respect to modeling the combustion of solid propellants. The vastly increased performance of computing capabilities has allowed utilization of calculation approaches that were previously only conceptual. The paper will discuss three areas of emphasis: first, numerical modeling of premixed flames using detailed kinetic mechanisms; second, development of packing models to calculate a geometrical distribution of particles simulating a heterogeneous solid propellant; and finally, calculation of diffusion same effects that are critical in the combustion of AP/hydrocarbon solid propellants.