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T H I S

bo ok i s a t r a ns l a t i on , w i t h s ome s l igh t a d a p t a t i on s , o f Technologie des

propergols solides pub l i s he d i n F re nc h i n 1989 .

T he re a r e f e w books on s o l i d p rope l l a n t s a nd t he i r u s e i n roc ke t p ropu l

s ion , and few of these present a comprehens ive review of the f i e ld .

T he re a r e ma ny r e a s ons fo r t h i s . F o r t he mos t pa r t , a pp l i c a t i ons o f t h i s

t ech no log y, wi th the exc ept io n of f ireworks d i sp la ys , ha ve been l imi ted to the

f ie lds of ad va nc ed a rm am en t an d spac e ac t iv i t i e s . The re fore , mo s t of i t ha s

been pro tec ted by indus t r i a l or mi l i t a ry secur i ty c las s i f i ca t ions . I t was thus

ne c e s s a ry t o w a i t f or t he m om e n t w h e n a s i gn if ic a n t qu a n t i t y o f da t a w o u l d

be d i s c l os e d t h rough ope n l i t e r a t u r e o r pa t e n t s .

Th ese res t r i c t io ns on the free flow of in fo rm at i on led to di fferent des ign s

and methods in d i f fe rent count r i es . In France , for ins tance , the re has been

i n t e ns i ve us e o f t r i m m e d a x i s ym m e t r i c g r a i n de s i gns w i t h h i gh l o a d i n g

f r a c t i ons w h i c h ha ve no t be e n de ve l ope d i n a ny o t he r c oun t r i e s , a nd fo r

w h i c h t h e d e s i g n a n d p r o d u c t i o n m e t h o d s w e r e p r o t e c t e d b y a " s e c r e t "

c las s i f i ca t ion for a long t ime . In the USSR a very spec i f i c compos i t e

pr op e l l a n t for m ula t ion ha s been use d in a fami ly of miss i l es, wi th a b i nd er

tha t uses a der iva t ive of a t e rpenic res in found only in the Ura l fores t s of the

U S S R .

T h e t e c hno l ogy o f p ro pe l l a n t s i s, l ike o t he r t e c h no l og y , s ub je c t t o t h e

i n f l ue nc e o f f a s h i ona b l e t r e nds . I n F ra nc e t oda y , f o r e xa mpl e , F i noc y l g r a i n

de s i gns a r e c u r r e n t l y pop u l a r . T h e m a i n r e a s on fo r t h i s i s p ro ba b l y t ha t

F i noc y l ge ome t r i e s a r e ve ry a da p t a b l e t o va r i ous f l ow r a t e o r t h rus t

r e qu i r e m e n t s . T h e re a r e , how e ve r , c as e s w h e re a s i mp l e s t a r - s h a pe d de s i gn

would have sa t i s f i ed the main requi rements , and a l so of fe red some be t t e r

s e c onda ry c ha ra c t e r i s t i c s .

Whi le the or ig ina l objec t ive was to present , to the extent poss ib le , a

univ ersa l bo dy of kn ow ledg e , fac tors such as res t r i c t ed info rm at io n f low,

s pe c i f i c i ndus t r i a l de ve l opme n t s i n va r i ous c oun t r i e s a nd f a s h i ona b l e t r e nds

hav e som et im es m ad e th i s d i ff icu lt . Re ad ers ma y there fore f ind a F re nc h

flavor to so m e of the ch ap te rs .

As a l re ady s ta ted , we t r ied to cov er a l l a sp ec t s of the f ie ld , an d con seq ue nt ly

th i s i s a long book. We had to be as conc i se as poss ib le on each subjec t ;

there fore w e often refer th e re ad er to wh at we feel i s esse nt ia l ma ter ia l for

a dd i t i ona l i n fo rma t i on . O ne o r i g i na l i n t e n t i on w a s t ha t e a c h c ha p t e r s hou l d

be r e a da b l e i nde pe nde n t o f t he o t he r s , i mp l y i ng a g r e a t a moun t o f r e dun-

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dancy. Because of space l imi ta t ions we d i scovered tha t th i s could not be

done . T he re fo re , s ome c ha p t e r s r e f e r t o o t he r c ha p t e r s . T h i s p r a c t i c e w a s ,

how e ve r , ke p t t o a mi n i mum, a nd w e us e d a t r a d i t i ona l a pp roa c h : e a c h

c ha p t e r u s e s c onc e p t s a l r e a dy de ve l ope d i n p r e v i ous c ha p t e r s .

Af te r a f i r s t chapte r rev iewing the fundamenta l s of rocke t propul s ion , the

s e c ond c h a p t e r de ve l op s a ll t he de s c r i p ti ve a s pe c t s . T h e s e c ond c ha p t e r i s

r e c o m m e nd e d t o a ny on e w ho is i n t e r e s t e d on l y i n r e a d i ng a bo u t on e o f t he

m ore s pe c ia l iz e d s ub je c t s f ound i n l a t e r c ha p t e r s . T h e s ubs e q ue n t c ha p t e r s

p re s e n t t he s pe c i f i c de s i gn me t hods a nd t he t he o re t i c a l phys i c s unde r l y i ng

t he m . T he s e a r e c ha p t e r s w he re , a f te r t he fun da m e n t a l m e c h a n i s m s i nvo l ve d

in the working of propul s ion sys tems a re presented , the ru les of the a r t and

s pe c i a l i z e d e ng i ne e r i ng me t hods a r e t he n de duc e d .

T he l a s t pa r t o f t he book de a l s w i t h t he i ndus t r i a l p roduc t i on o f t he mos t

i m p o r t a n t m o t o r c o m p o n e n t : t h e p r o p e l l a n t , a n d t h e i n e r t m a t e r i a l s , s u c h a s

t h e r m a l i n s u l a t i o n s a n d b o n d i n g m a t e r i a l s .

So m e subjec t s of co m m o n in te res t to d i f fe rent cha pte rs a re cov ered in only

one o f t he m. H e nc e , p roc e s s e s u s e d t o ma nufa c t u re c ompos i t e p rope l l a n t s ,

u s e d for c om pos i t e dou b l e -b a s e p ro pe l l a n t s (C h a p t e r 11 ), a r e c ove re d i n

C h a p t e r 10. N o n-d e s t ru c t i ve t e s t ing t e c hn i qu e s us e d fo r e ve ry type o f g r a i n

a re a l s o found i n C h a p t e r 10. S o m e m e c h a n i s m s fo r t he t r a ns i t i on f rom

de f l a g ra t i on t o de t ona t i on a r e de s c r i be d i n C ha p t e r 11. T h e d e c o m p o s i t i o n o f

n i t ra te es te rs and c r i t i ca l d imens ions for c racking by in te rna l pressure a re

di scussed only in Chapte r 9 ; vulnerabi l i ty i s sues a re d i scussed in Chapte r 8 ,

etc.

A l l a u t ho r s w ho c on t r i bu t e d t o t h i s w ork be l ong t o t he s a me c ompa ny :

S oc i e te N a t i on a l e de s P o ud re s e t E xp l osi f s — S N P E . T h e r e a s o n fo r th i s is

qu i t e s i mp l e . S N P E o r i g i na t e d f rom a f a m ous o ff ic ia l F r e n c h go ve r nm e n t a l

o rga n i z a t i on : t he "S e rv i c e de s P oudre s " . F o r s e ve ra l c e n t u r i e s t h i s o rga n i z a

t i on he l d t he monopo l y i n F ra nc e fo r t he p roduc t i on o f " e xp l os i ve s ub

s t a n c e s " ( s ubs t a n c e s t ha t c a n de f l a g ra t e o r de t o na t e ) . D ur i ng t he 19 th

century and the f i r s t pa r t of the 20th century i t was one of the grea t F rench

chem ica l gr ou ps whe re fun dam en ta l resear ch in the fie ld of phy s ica l che m

i s t ry w a s mos t a dva nc e d . S N P E ha s ke p t t he ma nda t e , f o r r e a s ons o f na t i ona l

i n t e r e s t , t o de ve l op a l l t ype s o f p roduc t s fo r p ropu l s i on a pp l i c a t i ons a nd fo r

a l l bas ic research programs in th i s a rea , d i f fe r ing f rom mos t o ther count r i es ,

where companies of t en spec ia l i zed in only one fami ly of produc t s .

D a n i e l Q ue n t i n ha d t he o r i g i na l i de a fo r t h i s p ro j e c t , a nd s t i mu l a t e d t he

f ir st dra f t s . The re qu i rem en ts of h i s profe ss iona l ac t iv i t i e s too k h im very fa r

away f rom France , making i t imposs ib le for h im to par t i c ipa te d i rec t ly in

la te r dra f t s . Even though there i s now l i t t l e l e f t f rom the voluminous f i r s t

dra f t s , these had the grea t mer i t of resu l t ing in in te rna l documents on each

s ub j e c t t ha t a r e p rov i ng t o be e x t r e me l y va l ua b l e fo r ou r c ompa ny .

I was as s i s t ed , for the French vers ion of th i s book, by a very consc ient ious

e d i t o r i a l c o m m i t t e e t h a t i n c l u d e d C l a u d e G r o s m a i r e , R o l a n d L u c a s a n d

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x

Be rna rd Z e l l e r, l a t e r rep lac ed — aga in be cau se of the press of o th er profes

s i ona l du t i e s — by R e ne C o u t u r i e r .

T h e F re n c h e d i t i on o f t h i s bo ok w a s pub l i s he d by M a s s on , P a r i s , a t t he

beginning of 1989 wi th the usua l h igh s t andards of th i s publ i sher . I t found

quick ly a s igni fi cant aud ien ce ( re la t ive ly spe aki ng ) but i t s d i ffus ion w ou ld

now a da ys s t a y e s s e n t i a l l y l i m i t e d t o F re nc h- s pe a k i ng c oun t r i e s .

T he pub l i c a t i on o f a n E ng l i s h ve r s i on w a s c ons i de re d a t a n e a r l y s t a ge .

P e rga mon P re s s , w i t h i t s dyna mi c po l i c y , a g re e d t o pub l i s h i t de s p i t e t he

l imi ted audie nce of th i s spec ia l i zed subjec t . W e ask ed M rs Ann e B aro n,

D anie l Q ue nt in ' s as s i s t an t , to m ak e a fir st dra ft of t ran s la t ion . Th i s dra f t w as

t he n r e v i e w e d by t he a u t ho r s w i t h t he he l p o f t he i r know l e dge o f t he

voc a bu l a ry o f t he i r t e c hn i c a l fie ld . T h e n w e a s ke d s om e E ng l i s h - s pe a k i ng

col leagues , knowledgeable in the f i e ld , to check our t rans la t ion . We wish to

e xpre s s a ll ou r g r a t i t ud e t o Mi s s C a ro l J on e s (C h a p t e r 13 ), P ro fe s s o r B e dd i n i

(4 ) a n d t o T o m B oggs (9 ), J o hn C o ns a g a (11 ) , R o n D e r r ( 3 ) , G e of fr e y E v a ns

(9), R a y F e i s t ( 2 ), J os e ph H i l d r e t h (1 ), F r a n k R ob e r t o (8 , 1 0 , 1 4 ) , B e r t S ob e r s

(12) , F ra nk T s e (6 ) a nd A ndy V i c t o r (5 ) .

S om e o f t he p ro b l e m s w e e n c ou n t e r e d d u r i n g t he t r a ns l a t i on w e re du e t o

t he f a c t t ha t s ome c onc e p t s t ha t a r e r e p re s e n t e d by one w ord i n one l a ngua ge

ne e de d a l ong s e n t e nc e fo r t he i r t r a ns l a t i on

and th i s to my surpr i se i s t rue

b o t h w a y s ( f o r i n s t a n c e " a u t o s e r r a g e " f o r " b u r n i n g a r e a t o p o r t a r e a r a t i o "

o r " i nd i c e s t ruc t u ra l " fo r " r a t i o o f i ne r t ma s s t o p rope l l a n t ma s s fo r a g i ve n

m o to r" , e t c .) . A no th er d if fi cul ty w as th a t t e rm ino log y has some t im es st il l to

be s t a nd ard ize d even if som e prog ress i s be in g m ad e in th i s a re a ( for e xam ple

in low vi s ib le s igna ture p rop e l l a n t s , ha za rd s c las s if i ca t ion , e t c . ). Th i s is

pa r t i c u l a r l y t r ue fo r p rope l l a n t f o rmul a t i ons . We ha ve de ve l ope d i n F re nc h a

s pe c i f i c t e rmi no l ogy t o na me p rope l l a n t s a c c o rd i ng t o t he i r ma i n c ompo

nent s , which i s compac t , e f f i c ien t and (of course ) Car tes ian . I t was used for

the Fre nc h vers io n but the re i s n o Eng l i sh eq uiv a len t so we ha d to dec ide , for

t he E ng l i s h voc a bu l a ry , s om e w ha t a rb i t r a r i l y . S om e t r a c e s o f t he F re n c h

na me s ma y be found i n s ome c ha p t e r s . I n c a s e o f pos s i b l e a mbi gu i t i e s w e

ha ve ma de a s pe c i a l p r e s e n t a t i on , i n a n a dde ndum, o f t he de c i s i ons w e ha ve

t a ke n t o na me p rope l l a n t s i n E ng l i s h , a nd t he ru l e s o f F re nc h t e rmi no l ogy .

S ince the Fre nc h edi t io n was publ i sh ed , a t the begi nn ing of 1989, the re ha s

no t be e n muc h i mpor t a n t e vo l u t i on i n s o l i d p ropu l s i on t e c hno l ogy , s o t he

c ha nge s ma de a r e qu i t e l i m i t e d .

S o m e d e v e l o p m e n t s o n p r o g r a m m a n a g e m e n t w e r e s u p p r e s s e d i n C h a p t e r

8 because they were very spec i f i c to the French organiza t ion . A smal l

a dd i t i on w a s m a d e in C h a p t e r 12 on i n t e g ra l boos t e r s t ha t w e re b r i ef ly

m e n t i o n e d i n th e F r e n c h e d i t i o n , a n d i n C h a p t e r 7 o n X D T ( d e l ay e d

d e t o n a t i o n t h r o u g h s h o c k ) . S o m e d e v e l o p m e n t s r e l a te d t o c l ea n p r o p e l l a n t s

fo r fu t u r e s pa c e boos t e r s a nd c on t i nuous -mi x i ng p roc e s s e s o f c ompos i t e

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prope l l a n t , w h i c h ma y be c ome i mpor t a n t i n t he ne a r fu t u r e w e re a dde d t o

C h a p t e r 14. S om e " f r e s h" r e f e re nc e s w e re a d de d t o s ome c ha p t e r s .

O n be ha l f o f mys e lf a n d my c o -a u t ho r s I w o u l d l i ke t o r e c o rd o u r g r a t i t ud e

t o ou r c o l l e a gue s a t S N P E , w hos e na me s do no t a l w a ys a ppe a r , f o r t he i r

ge ne rous c oope ra t i on i n t he p r e pa ra t i on o f t h i s book . We w ou l d a l s o l i ke t o

t ha nk a l l t hos e w ho ha ve p rov i de d i l l u s t r a t i ons .

F ina l ly I would l ike to thank my wi fe Ca thy for he r pa t i ence and

un de r s t a n d i n g du r i ng t he s um m e rs of 1987 a n d 1988 (F r e nc h ve r s i on ) a nd

1989 (E ng l i s h ve r s i on ) w h i l e I w a s a s s umi ng my e d i t o r i a l du t y , a nd t o t ha nk

my s upe rv i s o r , P i e r r e D uma s , w ho e nc oura ge d me w i t h t h i s w ork , e ve n w he n

bus i ne s s w a s b r i s k , a l s o a l l ou r F re nc h , B r i t i s h a nd A me r i c a n c o l l e a gue s a nd

f r i ends who he lped us in th i s t a sk .

L I N

D V E N S

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