Automated 3-D Acoustic Stability,/ Grain Design Analysis

The novel approach described in this proposal has the potential to allow designers of solid propellant rocket motors to assess the impact of their design choices on motor stability during the preliminary design phase of the motor development cycle. The potential cost savings to the government and industry are enormous. Fixing a motor stability problem during the hot fire testing phase of the program is very expensive. Recent experience with the THAAD missile shows that while motor instability can be solved after it occurs, it is not currently designed out of missile systems before the propellant is cast. The product proposed here is to add to the rocket motor designers tool kit, a multi-dimensional capability for acoustics stability analysis which can be utilized as an adjunct to a grain design and internal ballistics analysis.