Ignition Transient Calculations in the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor

Abstract

The work presented is part of an effort to develop a multidimensional ignition transient model for large solid propellant rocket motors. On the Space Shuttle, the ignition transient in the slot is induced when the igniter, itself a small rocket motor, is fired into the head-end portion of the main rocket motor. The computational results presented in this paper consider two different igniter configurations. The first configuration is a simulated Space Shuttle RSRM igniter which has one central nozzle that is parallel to the centerline of the motor. The second igniter configuration has a nozzle which is canted at an angle of 45 deg from the centerline of the motor. This paper presents a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analyses of certain flow field characteristics inside the solid propellant star grain slot of the Space Shuttle during the ignition transient period of operation for each igniter configuration. The majority of studies made to date regarding ignition transient performance in solid rocket motors have concluded that the key parameter to be determined is the heat transfer rate to the propellant surface and hence the heat transfer coefficient between the gas and the propellant. In this paper the heat transfer coefficients, pressure and velocity distributions are calculated in the star slot. In order to validate the computational method and to attempt to establish a correlation between the flow field characteristics and the heat transfer rates a series of cold flow experimental investigations were conducted. The results of these experiments show excellent qualitative and quantitative agreement with the pressure and velocity distributions obtained from the CFD analysis. The CFD analysis utilized a classical pipe flow type correlation for the heat transfer rates. The experimental results provide an excellent qualitative comparison with regard to spatial distribution of the heat transfer rates as a function of nozzle configuration and igniter pressure. The results indicate that from a quantitative point of view that the pipe flow correlation gives reasonably good results. Furthermore, there appears to be a direct correlation between igniter pressure and an average Reynolds number in the star grain slot. This may lead to a simple method for modifying the convection heat transfer correlation. Calculated results of pressure-vs-time for the first 200 msec of motor firing of the Space Shuttle RSRM support the trends shown for the heat transfer rate comparisons between the cold flow CFD and experimental data