A Preliminary Report on Developing an Expert System for Computer-Aided Formulation of Propellants.

Abstract : An expert system is being developed which will automate the propellant formulation design process. The expert system, being developed, uses Insight 2+, an expert system shell operating on an IBM AT-compatible microcomputer. The user is asked to specify requirements (e.g., desired energy, cost, burn rate, specific ingredient preferences) for the basic ingredients (oxidizer, binder, plasticizer,...). Based on these requirements, the individual ingredient databases are screened and those ingredients consistent with the criteria are saved to datafiles. Propellant formulations are then generated from the different possible domcinations of ingredients in the datafiles with rule-based criteria being used to exclude incompatible combinations, etc. Additional modules are being developed which will use rules, simple relationships (equations), or accessible computer programs to predict the properties (cost, sensitivity, mechanical behavior, etc.) of the formulations so generated, and interactively help the user select one or more of the formulations for a specific application. Keywords: Computer programs; Solid rocket propellants. (KR).