Twenty-firstSymposium(International)on Combustion/TheCombustionInstitute, 1986/pp.

1975-1981

E R O S I V E B U R N I N G M E C H A N I S M OF D O U B L E - B A S E P R O P E L L A N T S

A. ISHIHARA AND N. KUBOTA

Third Research Center,
Technical Research and Developtnent
Institute, Japan Defense Agency
Sakae, Tachikawa, Tokyo 190, Japan

Measurements of the combustion wave structure of solid propellants with and without cross-
flow conditions were conducted to elucidate the mechanism of erosive burning. The propellants
tested were three types of double-base propellants containing different energy levels: a low-
energy, a reference, and a high-energy propellant. The test results indicate that the erosive
burning ratio decreases with increasing energy contained in the unit mass of propellant. The
threshold velocity is lower for the low-energy propellant than for the high-energ~ propellant.
Measurements with microphotographs and microthermocouples revealed that the dark zone
which separates the luminous flame and the burning surface diminishes completely under
cross-flow conditions. The heat flux transferred back from the fizz zone to the burning surface
increases when the cross-flow velocity exceeds the threshold velocity. Erosive burning occurs
when the fizz zone parameter 9 is increased by the turbulent mixing generated by the cross-
flow. The analysis presented in this study indicates that the fizz zone parameter is ct)rrelated
uniquely with the friction force % at the surface as q5 ~ -r~~.

Introduction ditions, the determination of the rate control

T h e b u r n i n g rate of solid propellants is
augmented by cross-flow above the b u r n i n g
surface. This combustion p h e n o m e n o n is the so
called "erosive burning". T h e b u r n i n g rate
increases with increasing cross-flow velocity.
However, erosive b u r n i n g occurs only when the
cross-flow velocity exceeds a critical velocity
defined as the threshold velocity. Furthermore,
erosive b u r n i n g is d e p e n d e n t on the various
parameters such as type of propellant, pres-
sure, and the temperature of the cross-flow
gases, This is because erosive b u r n i n g is closely
related to the combustion mechanism of the
propellant adjacent to the propellant b u r n i n g
surface.
T h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the erosive b u r n i n g
mechanism is important to optimize the propel-
lant design used for rockets and for guns.
T h e r e have been n u m e r o u s experimental and
theoretical studies done on erosive burning, 1-13
The mathematical models presented by Kuo et
alJ and King2 for double-base propellants
successfully predict the erosive b u r n i n g effects
observed in rocket motors, i.e., b u r n i n g rate vs
cross-flow velocity relationship. However, these
models include various physical and chemical
parameters which have to be determined ex-
perimentally. Since erosive b u r n i n g occurs
u n d e r high velocity and high temperature con-
factors of erosive b u r n i n g by experimental
measurements is very difficult. In this study,
the effects of the cross-flow above the b u r n i n g
surface on the combustion wave structure of
double-base propellants were examined in
order to gain information on the physicochemi-
cal processes of erosive burning.
Experimental
In order to examine the effect of cross-flow
on the combustion wave structure of double-
base propellants, three different types of
double-base propellants were formulated: Low-
Energy, Reference, and High-Energy propel-
lants. The energy contained per unit mass of
these propellants was altered by adding differ-
ent amounts of diethylphthalate. Diethylphtha-
late is a typical plasticizer used for double-base
propellants. The energy level of propellant
decreases with increasing concentration of di-
ethylphthalate. Specifications of the propellants
tested in this study are shown in Table 1. It is
also shown in Table 1 that the flame tempera-
ture difference between High-Energy and Low-
Energy propellants is 938K.
Erosive b u r n i n g tests were carried out with a
two-dimensional erosive combustor consisting
of a gas generator and a test section. The

1975
 1976 COMBUSTION OF PROPELLANTS

TABLE 1 VELOCITY TEMPERATURE

PROFILE PROFILE
Specifications of the propellants tested in this study
TURBULENT {
1 [
l " ~
TIIL
MINOOS
f | [ FLAME
Propellant NC NG DEP (Tu)
High-Energy
Reference
55.6
50.4
40.4
36.6
4.0 2716
13.0 2114 vlscous
I /
4 - / ~U T J
/Tg ---~-RIZZ
1%
Low-Energy 47.5 34.5 18.0 1778 SUBLAYERT , , ' ' ~ ... ~ . < .................... :.:<[.. ZONE
i~i!!ili!iiiii!;BURNINGSURPACEi!!ii i i~i i i !i~i !!ii i i i i!~ii i!i i ~!ii i~ili~i ~
........... PROPELLANT UTo . . . . . . . . . . .
NC : nitrocellulose (N = 12.2%)
NG : nitroglycerin
FIG. 1. Combustion wave structure of a double-
DEP : diethylphthalate
base propellant under a cross-flow condition.
T/ : adiabatic flame temperature, K

propellant test sample to be investigated was

mounted on the lower surface of the test
section. The size of the propellant test sample
was 120 m m in length, 20 m m wide, and 25 m m
thick. A transparent window made of plexiglas
was attached on the side of the test section.
From this window, the regressing b u r n i n g
surface and the gas phase were photographed
by a micro-zoom video camera and by a
high-speed framing camera (100 - 700 frames/
s).
The cross-flow velocity was controlled by the
rate of gas production discharged from the gas
generator. The propellant charge b u r n e d in
the gas generator was the same type of propel-
lant used in the test section. Thus, the gas
temperature discharged from the gas generator
was the same as that produced by the combus-
tion of the test sample. T h e pressure in the test
section was measured with a strain-gauge type
pressure transducer attached on the u p p e r
surface of the test section. The detailed erosive
combustor design a n d the b u r n i n g rate mea-
surement techniques are described elsewhereJ 3
The b u r n i n g rate without cross-flow condi-
tions was measured with a chimney-type strand
b u r n e r which was pressurized with nitrogen,
The flame structure was recorded by a micro-
photographic video camera through a transpa-
rent quartz window attached on the side of the
burner. T h e temperature profiles in the com-
bustion waves with and without cross-flow
conditions were measured with microthermo-
couples (2,5 Ixm and 50 fxm-diam Pt-Ptl0%Rh
wires) embedded within the propellant sam-
ples. The techniques used for b u r n i n g rate and
temperature measurements are described in
Ref. 14.
Burning Rate of Double-Base Propellants
The combustion wave structure of double-
base propellants consists of successive reaction
zones (see Fig. 1)14: surface reaction, fizz, dark,
and luminous flame zones. At the surface
reaction zone, NO2 is formed due to the
breaking of the O-NO2 bonds in the nitro
groups of nitrocellulose a n d nitroglycerin. T h e
decomposition of the remaining fragments
such as aldehydes follows. The combustible
gaseous species react exothermically in the fizz
zone and increase the temperature. I n the dark
zone, the NO produced by the reduction of
N02 in the fizz zone reacts slowly with the
remaining fuel fragments such as H2 and CO
and produces the luminous flame zone. There-
fore, the luminous flame stands some distance
from the b u r n i n g surface. The luminous flame
approaches the b u r n i n g surface as pressure
increases. However, the heat feedback from the
luminous flame to the b u r n i n g surface is known
to be negligibly small, and the luminous flame
reaction is not responsible for the b u r n i n g rate
of double-base propellantsJ 4 The b u r n i n g rate
without cross-flow conditions is determined by
the heat flux fedback from the fizz zone to the
b u r n i n g surface and the heat produced at the
b u r n i n g surface.
Table 2 shows the measurement results of T~,
Tg, and ~b without cross-flow conditions (2 MPa)
for Low-Energy, Ref., and High-Energy pro-
pellants. T h e b u r n i n g rate characteristics mea-
sured in the strand b u r n e r are shown in Fig. 2.
Based on the heat balance at the b u r n i n g
surface, the b u r n i n g rate of double-base pro-
pellants is represented by 12
TABLE 2
Temperature data in the fizz zone
Propellant ro x 103 T,,o Tg, o 60 X 10-6
(2 MPa) m/s K K K/m
High-Energy 4,6 648 1420 11.0
Reference 2.9 628 1360 5.9
Low-Energy 1.9 623 1320 5.3
 EROSIVE BURNING OF DOUBLE-BASE PROPELLANTS 1977

an Arrehnius-type pyrolysis law at the burning

surface represented by
7"----
cppp ~ (1)
r = Z~ exp (-Es/RTs) (7)
where fib = (dT/dy),.g (2)
The activation energy at the burning surface is
r = T, - To - ~lcp (3) obtained by the temperature sensitivity equation

It is shown from Eq. (1) that the burning rate

depends mainly on two parameters: + and r (b
is related to the gas phase reaction and ~ is OTo/, = (a)
related to the condensed phase reaction. It has
Equation (8) is obtained by the differentiation
been reported that the temperature gradient
of Eq. (7) with respect to the initial propellant
just above the burning surface is given by the
temperature. Kubota and Ishihara obtained the
following equation: 14
temperature sensitivity, T, and (aTs/OTo) p val-
ues at 2 MPa for Low-Energy, Ref., and
1 cOgQg High-Energy propellants, a3'15Substituting their
4~= - - (4)
CgOp r data values in Eq. (8), the activation energies for
Low-Energy, Ref., and High-Energy propel-
Substituting Eq. (4) in Eq. (1), one gets lants were determined to be 27, 24, and 16
MJ/kmol, respectively. Based on Eq. (7), the
relationship of r and Ts was obtained by the use
7'= ~ (5)
of the E~ values.
Substituting the values of r and T, in Eqs. (3)
and (5), the relationship between the burning
where (I) is the fizz zone parameter defined by rate and fizz zone parameter for the propel-
lants tested in this study was obtained. In the
r = Xg~gQg (6) computations, the Q~ values (420 kJ/kg for
Low-Energy, Ref., and High-Energy propel-
Since the fizz zone parameter consists of physi- lants) obtained by Kubota and Ishihara 13'15and
cal and chemical properties in the fizz zone, this the physical parameter values shown in Table 3
parameter is directly affected by the cross-flow were used. As shown in Fig. 3, the fizz zone
velocity. On the other hand, the condensed parameter increases with increased burning
phase reaction parameter shown in Eq. (3) is rate for the three types of propellants tested.
unaffected by the cross-flow. It must be noted
that the fizz zone parameter is the only parame- Experimental Results
ter influencing burning rate which is affected
by cross-flow. Erosive Burning-Rate Characteristics
It is assumed that the burning rate is given by The cross-flow effect on burning rate is
shown in Fig. 4. The measurements were
I0 , i I , I i I I I i ,
conducted with the erosive combustor under
various cross-flow velocities. The erosive ratio
HIGH-ENERGY ~'Iz/"
E oREF. ..~r~ defined by ~ = r/ro is larger for Low-Energy
% propellant than that for High-Energy propel-
5 lant at a constant cross-flow velocity. Moreover,
•
the threshold velocity increases with increasing
energy contained in unit mass of propellant.
The threshold velocities at 2 MPa for Low-En-
ergy, Ref., and High-Energy propellants were
2
z determined to be approximately 60, 100, and
200 m/s, respectively. The erosive ratios (at u =
300 m/s and p = 2 MPa) for Low-Energy, Ref.,
1 i
and High-Energy propellants were also deter-
0.5 l 2 3 5 8 mined to be 2.4, 2.0, and 1.4, respectively.
PRESSURE, p MPa

Gas Phase Structure

FIG. 2. Burning rate characteristics of Low-Energy,
Ref., and High-Energy propellants without cross- Figure 5 shows the flame photographs of
flow. Ref. propellant burning without (a) and with (b)
1978 COMBUSTION OF PROPELLANTS
....+
70 I I I ] I I I

eu
~30 REF,
,zi-E

%
I0
o

•
5 / / HIGH-ENERGY
3
(a) (b)
u = 0 m/s u = 70 m/s
I I i I I I l I
I I
2 3 4 5 I0 mm
BURNINGRATE, r x 103 m/s
Fie. 5, Flame photographs of Ref. propellant with
Fi(;. 3. Variation of the fizz zone parameter with and without cross-flow showing that the dark zone is
burning rate for Low-Energy, Ref,, and High-Energy diminished completely by the cross-flow (p = 2 MPa).
propellants.

profile measurements in the fizz zone just

cross-flow conditions at 2 MPa. The luminous above the b u r n i n g surface without and with (70
flame stands approximately 7 mm above the m/s) cross-flow conditions for Ref. propellant.
b u r n i n g surface and the dark zone which The temperature profile in the gas phase is
separates the luminous flame and the b u r n i n g significantly altered by the cross-flow. T h e
surface is clearly seen when the propellant temperature in the dark zone is increased by
burns without cross-flow. However, when the the cross-flow and the two-stage gas phase
propellant b u r n s with 70 m/s cross-flow veloc- reaction becomes a single-stage gas phase reac-
ity, the luminous flame approaches the b u r n i n g tion. This is confirmed with the results ob-
surface and the dark zone diminishes ahnost served in the flame photographs shown in Fig.
completely. It must be noted that the b u r n i n g 5.
rate of tim Ref, propellant remained un- The results obtained in the flame structure
changed u n d e r the 70 m/s cross-flow condition measurements strongly suggest that the high
(see Fig. 4) even though the luminous flame temperature flame penetrates into the dark
approached the b u r n i n g surface. zone by the t u r b u l e n t mixing generated by the
Figure 6 shows the results of the temperature

! i I ' I

I I i ~ I I | | 2000 p = 2 MPa
2.6 HIGH-ENERGY
o REF. o / / z~

o LOW-ENERGY o o/~ / ~- 1500

2.2 p = 2 MPa O / o O / ~

o //~o ~ oo ~
:<
1.8 I000
500 ~ m / s

w 1.4
0 0 & Ix

250 i j I I I I L
1,0 - .0 0 2.0 1.0
UOo~qoo DISTANCE FROMBURNINGSURFACE,y x 103 m
0.8 J I I I I I I I
100 200 300 400
CROSS-FLOWVELOCITYu, m/s Fro, 6. Temperature profiles of Ref. propellant
with and without cross-flow showing that the dark
Fro. 4, Burning rate characteristics of Low-Energy zone temperature is increased abruptly by the cross-
Ref., and High-Energy propellants with cross-flow. flOW.
 EROSIVE BURNING OF DOUBLE-BASE PROPELLANTS 1979

cross-flow. This process may increase the value The Stanton number with blowing effect is
of the fizz zone parameter defined by Eq. (6), given by ~9
and increase the burning rate.
St/St0 = in (I + B)/B (16)

where St0 is the Stanton number without blow-

Discussion
ing effect given by 17

Since the burning rate of double-base propel- St0 = 0.0296Re- V5pr-2/3 (I 7)

lants is dependent on the reaction rate in the
fizz zone, the effect of cross-flow on the fizz
zone parameter qb should be determined. When
a cross-flow exists above the burning surface, a
turbulent boundary layer is formed as shown in
Fig. 1. The boundary layer consists of two
flow-field regions: an outer region accompa-
nied with a high turbulence intensity and an
inner region accompanied with a low turbu-
lence intensity. The inner region is known to be
a viscous sublayer where the velocity along the
burning surface is very small.
It is postulated that the fizz zone parameter is
increased by the cross-flow when the thickness
of the viscous sublayer g~ is thinner than the
thickness of the fizz zone L~,o. In this case, the
turbulence in the outer region penetrates into
the fizz zone, and an energy transfer from the
outer region (high temperature region) to the
fizz zone (low temperature region) occurs.
Accordingly, the heat flux fedback from the
fizz zone to the burning surface increases, and
then the burning rate increases, i.e., erosive
burning. Thus, the effect of cross-flow on
burning rate can be divided into the following
two burning rate regions:
and B is a blowing factor defined by
B = pfr/pguSt (18)
Based on Eqs. (13)-(18), ~, values for the
three types of propellants were computed. In
the computations of ~, parameter values shown
in Table 1-3 and the non-erosive burning rate
data shown in Fig. 2 were used. The results are
shown in Fig. 7 as a function of cross-flow
velocity. The By decreases rapidly with increas-
ing cross-flow velocity. The 8~, of High-Energy
propellant is larger than that of Low-Energy
propellant at a constant cross-flow velocity.
The threshold velocity is also computed for
the three types of propellants at g~ = L~,0shown
in Eq. (10). In computing L~,0, the data shown in
Table 2 were used. As shown in Fig. 7, the
threshold velocity determined by Eq. (10) is
approximately equal to the threshold velocity
determined by the erosive burning experiments
shown in Fig. 2. The results obtained in this
study also indicates the validity of the threshold
concept proposed by Vandenkerchhove 4, Kuo
et al.i, and King 2.

~ > L~,o : nonerosive burning region (9)

0.4
8v = L~,o : threshold point (10) I I i

~ < L~,o : erosive burning region (1 I) LOW-ENERGY -- calc.

REF.
where the thickness of the fizz zone is given by m 0.3
% HIGH-ENERGY
LZ,0
L~,o = (Tg, o - Ts, o)/rbo (12) • HIGH-ENERGY
c) o REF.
It has been reported that the thickness of the ,,,0.2 o LOW-ENERGY
viscous sublayer is given by the following
equation which is obtained experimentally: l'16
. . . . ~ :.:.:.;.: ............. "
6v = 5 laJ(pg'rs) 1/2 (13) 0.i

where T, is the surface friction force defined by

I I I I I I
"rs = pgclit, u2/2 (14) 100 200 300
CROSS-FLOW VELOCITY u, m/s
The friction coefficient is given by Colburn
asl7,18
FIG. 7. The thickness of the viscous sublayer and
the fizz zone length vs cross-flow velocity for Low-En-
c/= 2StPr 2/s (15) ergy, Ref., and High-Energy propellants.
 1980 COMBUSTION OF PROPELLANTS

TABLE 3
Physical properties of propellant and combustion gas

Op Cp Cg l~// ~kg ~ X
kg/In 3 J/kgK J/kgK kg/kmol W/mK Ns/m 2 m
1600 1600 1600 25 0.1 4 x 10-5 0.1

As described previously, the heat transfer phase. Using Eq. (19), one can obtain the
from the gas phase to the burning surface is relationship between the cross-flow velocity and
d e p e n d e n t on the turbulence intensity gener- burning rate.
ated in the outer region of the boundary layer.
Since the turbulence is a physical process of an
energy transfer, the turbulence intensity can be
Conclusions
correlated with the friction force at the
surface, ~'~''-'~ In this study, the relationship
between the friction force and the fizz zone The d a r k zone which separates the luminous
parameter was d e t e r m i n e d using various data flame zone and the b u r n i n g surface diminishes
points from Fig. 4. T h e computations of Vswere almost completely u n d e r cross-flow conditions.
done by using Eqs. (14)-(18) and the data T h e high t e m p e r a t u r e gas in the outer region
shown in Tables 1-3. T h e computed results for of the b o u n d a r y layer penetrates into the fizz
Low-Energy, Ref., and High-Energy propel- zone and increases the heat flux transferred
lants are shown in Fig. 8. T h e results for the back from the fizz zone to the burning surface.
propellants tested can be expressed by the This heat transfer process is caused by the
following relationship: turbulence generated by the cross-flow. T h e
fizz zone p a r a m e t e r 9 defined by 9 -= ~,gt0gQg
cD/qS~ = (.r,/%~)~ (19) plays a d o m i n a n t role on the heat transfer
process. As cross-flow velocity increases, Op
In computing ~ , the calculated data shown in increases. T h e fizz zone p a r a m e t e r can be
Fig. 3 were used. It must be noted that the correlated uniquely with the friction force at
computations done in this study were based on the burning surface as qS/~c = (%/%~)0.a for the
the data values obtained at 2 MPa. erosive burning o f double-base propellants.
The results shown in Fig, 8 indicate that the
fizz zone p a r a m e t e r is correlated uniquely with
the turbulence intensity generated in the gas
Nomenclature

B blowing factor defined in Eq. (8)

50 [ I I I I I I I ] I I I I I I I I
c specific heat, kJ/kgK
HIGH-ENERGY cf friction coefficient
o REF. E activation energy, MJ/kmol
20 o LOW-ENERGY L length o f thickness, m
M molecular weight, kg/kmol
i0 Pr Prandtl n u m b e r
p pressure, MPa
'e" Q heat of reaction, kJ/kg
5
R gas constant

J
o
Re Reynolds n u m b e r
zx
r burning rate, m/s
2
St Stanton n u m b e r defined in Eq. (17)
T temperature, K
I ~ ~ I , , , ~ I ----.[---.-l.~.k--l~_a.l.
u cross-flow velocity, m/s
2 5 I0 20 50 I00 x characteristic length, m
T S / T S ,C y distance n o r m a l to propellant surface, m
Z pre-exponential factor defined in Eq. (7)
FIG. 8. Fizz zone parameter ~ vs friction force ,r, at 8~, thickness of viscous sublayer, m
the surface showing the relationship of dO/~ = 9 erosive ratio
(~,/~,.c)~ ~. thermal conductivity, W/mK
 EROSIVE BURNING OF DOUBLE-BASE PROPELLANTS 1981

Ix absolute viscosity, N s / m 2 6. RZNIE, J. R. AXD OSBORN, J. R.: AIAA j., 21,

p density, kg/m 3 p.1681 (1983).
friction force, N / m 2 7. LENGELLE,G.: AIAA J., 13, p.315 (1975).
fizz zone p a r a m e t e r d e f i n e d in Eq. (6) 8. RAZDAN, M. K. AND KUO, K. K.: AIAA j., 17,
d~ t e m p e r a t u r e g r a d i e n t in the fizz zone p.1225 (1979).
d e f i n e d in Eq. (2) 9. K~NG, M. K.: J. Spacecraft and Rockets, 15, p.139
c o n d e n s e d phase p a r a m e t e r defined in (1978).
Eq. (3) 10. BEDDINI, R. A.: AIAA J., 16, p.898 (1978).
co reaction rate, kg/m 3 11. KING, M. K.: Combustion and Flame, 24, p.365
(1975).
Subscripts 12. RAZDAN,M. K. aND KUO, K. K.: Fundamentals of
Solid-Propellant Combustion (K.K. Kuo and M.
0 w i t h o u t cross-flow or initial condition Summerfield, Eds.). Progress in Astronautics and
c t h r e s h o l d condition Aeronautics, 90, Chapter 10, AIAA, 1984.
g gas phase or fizz zone 13. ISHIHARA,A. AND KUBOTA,N.: Industrial Explo-
p p r o p e l l a n t or p r e s s u r e sives, 44, p.334 (1983).
s b u r n i n g surface 14. KCBOTA,N: Report No. AMS 1087, Department
z fizz zone of Aerospace and Mechanical Sciences, Princeton
University, 1973 or AD-763 786.
15. KUBOTA, N. AND ISHIHARA, A.: Twentieth Sym-
REFERENCES posium (International) on Combustion, p.2035,
The Combustion Institute, 1984.
1. Wu, X., KUMAR,M., AND KUO, K. K.: Combustion 16. SCHLmHTXNC, H.: Boundary Layer Theory, 4th
and Flame, 53, p.49 (1983). ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1960.
2. KINC, M. K.: AIAAJ., 20, p.1432 (1982). 17. HOLMAX,J. P.: Heat Transfer, 4th ed., McGraw-
3. LENOtR, J. M. AND ROBILLARD,G.: Sixth Sympo- Hill, New York, 1976.
sium (International) on Combustion, p.663, 18. Heat Transfer Engineering Data (K. Hirata,
Reinhold, New York, 1957. Ed.),JSME, p.52, 1975.
4. VANDENRERCKnOVE,J. A.: Jet Propulsion, 28, 19. MOFFAT,R. J. AND KAYS,W. M.: Int. J. Heat Mass
p.599 (1958). Transfer, 11, p.1547 (1968).
5. ZucRow, M. J., OSBORN, J. R., aND MURPHY,J. 20. YAMADA,K., GOTO, M., AND ISHIKAWA,N.: AIAA
M.: AICHE Symposium Series, 60, p.23 (1964). J., 14, p. 1170 (1976).