High-pressure combustor for the spectroscopic study of solid propellant combustion chemistry

An apparatus for spectroscopic studies of solid propellants burning at pressures up to 7 MPa (1000 psi) is described. The propellants are burned in a high-pressure combustor equipped with sapphire windows for optical access and a servomechanism that raises the propellant as it burns, allowing examination of a specific portion of the propellant flame for extended times. The results presented involve the collection of propellant flame emission spectra with a diode array detector over a fixed spectral region.