Materials Development for High Performance Solid Rocket Motor Cases

Achieving increase performance with current rocket motor technology (i.e., graphite reinforced epoxy case materials) will rely on reducing the inert mass of the rocket motor case. Meeting the booster performance goals with innovative materials technologies is a much lower system level cost approach than by increasing the booster diameter or length. Higher temperature rocket motor cases resins have been identified as a technology that is capable of delivering the improved performance that next generation boosters demand. Optimizing the thermal performance of the case with resins with higher temperature capability than epoxy materials affords the designer the ability to reduce the TPS volume. The volume and mass saved by the higher operating temperature case will provide increased burn out velocity as a minimum. Additionally, replacing the inert volume with propellant will achieve even higher performance. This SBIR project will demonstrate the performance improvement of a rocket motor case using domestic graphite fibers and higher temperature resins that are currently available in the industry. Subscale rocket motor cases will be filament wound and subjected to high temperature testing to validate the translation of fiber strength in the wound construction.