MECHANICAL-BEHAVIOR OF A SOLID COMPOSITE PROPELLANT DURING MOTOR IGNITION

In order to understand the behavior of composite propellants during mo tor ignition, a particular study about mechanical and ultimate propert ies of a Hydroxy-Terminated Polybutadiene (HTPB) filled propellant und er superimposed hydrostatic pressure was carried out. The mechanical r esponse of the propellant was obtained for uniaxial tensile and simple shear tests at various temperatures, strain rates and superimposed pr essures from atmospheric pressure to 15 MPa. The experimentally observ ed ultimate properties were found to be strongly pressure sensitive an d the data were formalized in a specific stress failure criterion.