Laser-induced ignition of solid propellants for gas generators

An experimental study was conducted to evaluate the ignitibility of a family of potential gas-generator solid propellants under different CO2 laser heat fluxes and chamber operating conditions. Six types of solid propellant were tested: one baseline and five variations. The ingredients of the baseline propellant were ammonium nitrate, guanidine nitrate, potassium nitrate, and polyvinyl alcohol. The other five propellant variations were obtained by adding different amounts of carbon black, ammonium perchlorate, RDX, and triamino guanidine nitrate to the baseline formulation. The propellants were tested in a high-pressure windowed strand burner, which was pressurized with either air or argon purge gases. Propellant ignition was accomplished by a 50-W CO2 laser. The ignition delay times of the propellants were measured at pressures of 1 and 69 atm using high-speed video cameras. In this paper, the test results and comparison of the ignition and combustion characteristics of these propellants were presented.