Parametric Evaluation of Solid Rocket Motor Internal Ballistics

The ability to predict with some accuracy a given solid rocket motor’s performance before undertaking one or several costly experimental test firings is important. On the numerical prediction side, as various component models evolve, their incorporation into an overall internal ballistics simulation program allows for new motor firing simulations to take place, which in turn allows for updated comparisons to experimental firing data. In the present investigation, utilizing an updated simulation program, the focus is on quasi-steady performance analysis. Specifically, the predicted effects of negative/positive erosive burning, propellant/casing deflection, and motor size (larger motor lengths and diameters) on a reference cylindrical-grain motor’s internal ballistics are examined.