Shelf Life Prediction of Rocket Motors

Stockpiles of weapons with composite rocket motors have been expensive to acquire. In the fortunate occurrence that these weapons are not used, they are too expensive to discard based upon simple expiration dates. However, use of these weapons can be dangerous if their integrity is compromised due to aging and deterioration. CogniTech proposes to build a software suite containing a graphical interface capable of evaluating and modeling the aging and deterioration of composite solid propellant rocket motors. This software will process sensor data from Remote Readiness Asset Prognostic/Diagnostic Systems (RRAPDS). Abilities will include importing, exporting, viewing, editing, analyzing and modeling environment data collected over decades for both individual motors and stockpiles. Simple one-dimensional models will initially evaluate stockpiles of weapons and identify individual motors that should receive a more detailed evaluation. Integrated with the graphical interface will also be a deterministic modeling capability that can do detailed modeling on individual rocket motors. The detailed deterministic modeling will leverage ATK Thiokol's FEM Builder/FEM Python software interfaced with ABAQUS to provide structural finite element analysis. The proposed software will assist Project Managers in managing their resources to obtain the longest service life of valuable weapons systems.