Events Calendar

Astronautical Engineering Seminar

Speaker: David Reese, Aerospace Corporation

Talk Title: Future Developments in Solid Propellant Technology

Abstract: Solid rocket motors are a key enabling technology for military and space launch applications. Current
propellants are based primarily on ammonium perchlorate (AP), which is a favored oxidizer thanks to its
unique ability to control burning rate, safe processing characteristics, and high performance. However,
much remains to be understood about the combustion dynamics of AP-based propellants: due to the short
temporal and spatial scales, high temperatures, and extreme pressures present in a solid rocket motor
chamber, it has been all but impossible to employ traditional combustion diagnostics to characterize this
environment. This talk will begin with a discussion of recent advances in the understanding of the
fundamentals of AP propellant combustion in motor-like environments enabled by new high speed and
high power laser diagnostic techniques.
Despite its advantages, however, AP carries with it a chlorine atom, which causes the exhaust products to
form hydrochloric acid smoke, unfavorable from both tactical and environmental standpoints. Potential
replacements for AP have been rejected as unsuitable due to their low performance, unstable combustion,
or unsafe handling characteristics. However, recent advances in a few molecular families appear
promising, particularly the nitrate esters, in which the 2008 discovery of a new solid material called SMX
has led to exciting developments in chlorine-free propellant compositions. The second half of this talk
will discuss results of experiments with ammonium perchlorate replacements, with a focus on SMX.
By combining modern diagnostic technology with recent advances in synthesis, entire new capabilities for
solid rocket motors may soon be realized.


Biography: Dr. Reese was an undergraduate in the first four-year ASTE B.S. class at USC, where he was co-founder
of the Rocket Propulsion Laboratory. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. at Purdue. His dissertation was
Combustion of SMX and SMX Propellants. He joined the Aerospace Corporation after graduation in
2014.


Host: Dan Erwin

Location: Vivian Hall of Engineering (VHE) - 217

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Dan Erwin