Erosive Burning of Some Composite Solid Propellants

Experimental data on the erosive burning of several composite solid propellants are reported and discussed. The data appear to be best correlated in terms of a reduced mass velocity. At low Mach numbers , th is correlation becomes equivalent to several widely used forms employing linear velocity. It is found that the erosive effect is greater in slow-burning propellants than in fast-burning ones , an observation consistent wi th previously reported data for various double-base propellants. The existence of an apparent velocity for eros ion is tentatively a t tributed to the failure of the one-dimensional idealization to represent the true flow condit ions obtaining at the fore end of the grain, but i t is emphasized that more comprehensive studies of the erosive-burning phenomenon will be required in order to resolve the threshold velocity quest ion.