Solid rocket motor witness test

Abstract

The Solid Rocket Motor Witness Test was undertaken to examine the potential for using thermal infrared imagery as a tool for monitoring static tests of solid rocket motors. The project consisted of several parts: data acquisition, data analysis, and interpretation. For data acquisition, thermal infrared data were obtained of the DM-9 test of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor on December 23, 1987, at Thiokol, Inc. test facility near Brigham City, Utah. The data analysis portion consisted of processing the video tapes of the test to produce values of temperature at representative test points on the rocket motor surface as the motor cooled down following the test. Interpretation included formulation of a numerical model and evaluation of some of the conditions of the motor which could be extracted from the data. These parameters included estimates of the insulation remaining following the tests and the thickness of the charred layer of insulation at the end of the test. Also visible was a temperature signature of the star grain pattern in the forward motor segment