Attenuation studies of booster-rocket propellants and their simulants

Technical Report · Wed Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6551156· OSTI ID:6551156

Weirick, L J

A series of impact experiments on a composite propellant, an energetic propellant, and their simulants was recently completed using a light-gas gun. Previous experiments were done to obtain Hugoniot data, to investigate the pressure threshold at which a reaction occurs, and to measure spall damage at various impact velocities. The present studies measured the attenuation of shock waves in these materials, completing the shock characterization needed for material modeling. An initial impulse of 2.0 GPa magnitude and {approximately}0.6 {mu}s duration was imposed upon samples of various thicknesses. VISAR was used to measure the free-surface velocity at the back of the samples; these data were used to generate a curve of shock-wave attenuation versus sample thickness for each material. Results showed that all four materials attenuated the shock wave very similarly. Material thicknesses of 3.0, 7.62, 12.7, and 19.0 mm attenuated the shock wave {approximately}16%, 33%, 50%, and 66% respectively. 14 refs., 12 figs., 4 tabs.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/DP
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 6551156
• Report Number(s): SAND-89-2656; ON: DE91000098
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360603* -- Materials-- Properties
ABSORPTION
COMPOSITE MATERIALS
DIMENSIONS
IMPACT SHOCK
MATERIALS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
PROPELLANTS
SHOCK WAVES
THICKNESS