Manufacturing of propellant grains for solid rocket motors using additive technology
Authors: Kurdov S.S., Zavolokin V.E., Komkov M.A.
Published in issue: #6(66)/2017
DOI: 10.18698/2308-6033-2017-6-1629
Category: Aviation and Rocket-Space Engineering | Chapter: Thermal, Electric Jet Engines, and Power Plants of Aircrafts
The paper considers the development of a propellant grain with the maximum crosssection curvature for SRM, which would provide maximum SRM thrust. However, modern propellant grain production technologies cannot enable the production of complex cross-section propellant grains due to existing geometrical and structural parameters of the fuel. It sidelines modern space engineering. Additive technologies make it possible to produce complex curve shaped items. The development of 3D-printer capable of printing the propellant grain for SRM would allow producing SRM with different power characteristics depending on customer's preferable tasks. In our work we introduce a new technology for producing the propellant grain for SRM. Moreover, we describe some fundamental principles and potential problems of producing 3D-printer for printing the propellant grain for SRM. We also suggest the ways to solve the problems and give the printer conceptual image and its hardware flowchart. In order to carry out tests on fine-tuning technologies of printing the relevant propellant grain, we analyze a specific model of the propellant grain for SRM. Finally, we propose other fields of application for the high-energy propellant grain technology.
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