Publication: Comparative assessment of green Solid rocket motor tailoring for Performance and emission Determination.
| datacite.subject.fos | oecd::Engineering and technology::Mechanical engineering::Aerospace engineering | |
| dc.contributor.author | Adnan, Zulfam | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-10-30T03:57:06Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-10-30T03:57:06Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026-04 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This thesis presents an experimental and computational investigation of high energy hydroxy terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) based solid rocket propellants aimed at improving performance while reducing toxic combustion products through incorporation of zirconium (Zr) metal and the energetic oxidiser cyclo-trimethylene trinitramine (RDX). A parametric study of the isocyanate-to-hydroxyl (NCO/OH) ratio in the toluene diiscyanate (TDI)-HTPB binder (NCO/OH = 0.73-0.85) and binder loadings (10.5% and 12%) identified an formulation near NCO/OH = 0.77 with approximately 10.5-11% binder. The binder system was then loaded with aluminium (10% Al by weight), tri-modal ammonium perchlorate (AP, 63–68%), and additives of 5% Zr and 5% RDX. Mechanical, rheological and density measurements were combined with strand-burner and sub-scale retro-motor tests to evaluate ballistic performance; the best composition achieved a specific impulse (Isp) of 242 s, a regression-rate increase of 10.6% and a thrust rise of 9.6% relative to the base composition. While RDX-containing mixes exhibited approximately 5% lower toxic gas like hydrochloric acid (HCl), nitric oxide (HNO) and alumina (Al2O3) production. A modified erosive burn-rate model was developed and validated against literature to predict chamber pressure-time and thrust profiles, yielding greater than 95% and 94% accuracy for p-t and burnout time respectively. 2D ANSYS FLUENT® version 2023 R1 simulations of internal flow and combustion closely matched experiments (burn rate error less than 0.5%). Results demonstrate that carefully tuned binder chemistry combined with Zr and RDX additives can enhance SRP performance with more environmentally considerate solid propellants for future space applications. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://erepo.usm.my/handle/123456789/25292 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.title | Comparative assessment of green Solid rocket motor tailoring for Performance and emission Determination. | |
| dc.type | Resource Types::text::thesis::doctoral thesis | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| oairecerif.author.affiliation | Universiti Sains Malaysia |