Aluminum oxide particles produced by solid rocket motors

摘要

The candidate propellant for the Shuttle solid rocket motors contains approximately 16 percent aluminum powder. In this percentage range the aluminum can be considered as a significant portion of the fuel and it also tends to stabilize the burning rate process. There is a considerable source of data concerning metal oxide particles produced by solid propellant rocket motors. Before embracing these data and applying them to environmental and contamination concerns posed by Shuttle operations, awareness should be made of the prime interest which prompted these studies. With this in mind, the following topics are addressed: (1) damping combustion instabilities; (2) comparison of Al2O3 particle size data; (3) Al2O3 sampling techniques; (4) results from the Marshall Space Flight Center sampling tests; and (5) aluminum combustion.