Dynamic Behavior of Nano-sized Particles in Novel Energetic Materials for Space Propulsion

We propose a comprehensive computational and experimental program to investigate the charac-teristics and dynamic behavior of nano-size aluminum in novel energetic materials. Two classes of advanced propellants will be considered. The first will be composite propellants, consisting of solids including AP, HMX, RDX, or nano-aluminum with a suitable binder such as HTPB. The second will be a nanoscale aluminum and ice propellant. For the computational portion of the proposed work, we plan to (i) use our in-house packing code to generate morphologies of interest for heterogeneous propellants; (ii) modify our CFD code to include appropriate models for chemistry, radiation, and nano-sized aluminum; and (iii) simulate transient behavior of the pro-pellants at rocket motor conditions. For the experimental portion, we plan to (i) use the mixing facility at Purdue to prepare appropriate propellant samples containing nano-sized aluminum, thus allowing for a full characterization of the propellant (composition; particle size distribution) necessary for a coordinated modeling and experimental program; and (ii) carry out both steady and unsteady experiments to fully characterize the propellants. The experiments will also be used for model calibration and for validation.