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The Electrothermal Enhancement of Propellant Burning by Plasma Injection
Author(s) -
Proud W. G.,
Bourne N. K.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
propellants, explosives, pyrotechnics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.56
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1521-4087
pISSN - 0721-3115
DOI - 10.1002/prep.19970220406
Subject(s) - propellant , plasma , joule heating , mechanics , materials science , cylinder , voltage , nuclear engineering , joule effect , capacitor , composite material , electrical engineering , chemistry , mechanical engineering , physics , engineering , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
A series of experimental demonstrations of plasma injection into a burning propellant interface is presented. The propellant is a nitro‐guanidine based material in the form of a right cylinder with a bore along its central axis. It is ignited by a hot‐wire system and, when a pre‐set pressure is achieved, a second wire is exploded using a high‐voltage capacitor discharge circuit. The second wire forms a plasma, precisely at, or well away from the burning interface. Comparing the pressure histories from these different geometries allows the effect of increased burning rate to be separated from Joule heating of the product gases. Analysis of these histories shows a pressure increase over that caused by Joule heating of the products.