The influence of thermostatting temperature on the ignition and deformation dynamics of a cylindrical charge in a nozzleless propulsion device

Abstract

This article presents the results of numerical simulation of the steady-state operation of a nozzle less propulsion device (NPD) with a cylindrical viscoelastic solid propellant charge. The study was performed in a two-dimensional axisymmetric formulation, taking into account the coupled interaction of viscous compressible combustion products and a deformable charge. The viscoelastic behavior of the propellant is described using Prony series and the Williams-Landel-Ferry temperature-time shift function. It was found that an increase in the initial thermostatting temperature of the charge reduces its ignition time and decreases the initial shear modulus, which leads to a more than twofold increase in surface movement. It is shown that low initial temperatures lead to a decrease in propellant chamber pressure, while an increase in temperature by 115 °C increases the maximum pressure by 25 atm. The convergence of the numerical solution on three computational grids is assessed.