D'ANDREA - SRM Materials&Process - Final

12th edition CVA Summer School
SOLID ROCKET MOTORS MATERIALS AND PROCESSES

Bruno DAndrea
Colleferro 8th of July 2011
All information contained in this document is property of Avio SpA. @ Copyright All rights reserved
Page 1
CONTENTS
The SRM Structure and Components Motor Case Thermal Insulation The Bonding Solid Propellant Non Destructive Tests and Proof Igniter Nozzle
Colleferro 8th of July 2011 All information contained in this document is property of Avio SpA. @ Copyright All rights reserved
Page 2
GETTING START
FROM THE END
Page 3
OUR TARGET
Page 4
THE SOLID ROCKET MOTOR Structure and Components
Page 5
COMPONENT
Igniter Motor Case
MAIN TECHNOLOGY
Standing Consumable Metallic Composite (Carbon-Epoxy)
Thermal Insulation
Filled Rubber Reinforced Rubber Polyurethane Ammonium Perchlorate Aluminum Filled Rubber Carbon-Carbon Carbon-Phenolic
Page 6
Solid Propellant External Thermal Insulation

(opt)
Nozzle
12th edition CVA Summer School Payload Composite

Height [m] Maximum diameter [m] Fairing diameter [m] 30.152 3.005 2.600 136811 1500 -
Z9 SRM
Z23 SRM
Mass at Lift-off [kg] Reference mission performance [kg] Structural Ratio
AVUM & IS34
P80 SRM IS 23 IS 01
VEGA LAUNCHER ARCHITECTURE

IS 12
Page 7
THE MOTOR CASE
Page 8
Solid Rocket Motor Case

The Motor Case can be:
Metallic
The thermal Insulation are applied on the inner surface and bonded by vulcanization
Composite
The Thermal Insulation are manufactured together with the case The carbon-epoxy material is winded on the thermal insulation The rubber can be vulcanized before the filament winding or co-cured
In any case, some thermal insulation parts are vulcanized separately and bonded successively
Page 9
METALLIC CASE MAIN STEPS
1- CASE INCOMING
2 - DEGREASING 3 - SANDBLASTING 4 - ADHESIVES APPLICATION
5 - UNCURED T.I. DEPOSITION
6 . MANUAL DEPOSITION 7 - VULCANIIZATION 8 - ULTRASOUND CHECK
9 - MACHINING
10-FINAL APPLICATION 11-SHIPPING
UY-F) G ( U O KOUR
Page 10
METALLIC CASE MAIN STEPS
U.S. EQUIPMENT DEGREASING UNCURED T.I. DEPOSITION
SANDBLASTING
AUTOCLAVE VERTICAL LATHE

Page 11
METALLIC CASE INNER SURFACE
AUTOMATIC UNCURED THERMAL INSULATION DEPOSITION AND MANUAL APPLICATION OF SOME PARTS : WORKING INSIDE THE MOTOR
Page 12
COMPOSITE CASE MAIN STEPS

Skirt Mandrels
THERMAL PROTECTION APPLICATION ONTO THE MANDREL MANDREL INTEGRATION
HELICAL WINDING
EXTERNAL HOOP WINDING
Vulcanization Machining
CURE CYCLE
MANDREL ESTRACTION
PTS : Reinforced Thermal Protections (Avio patent)

To be winded by the same machine of the prepreg filament winding
PROOF TEST
Page 13
HOW DOES THE CURING WORK? RHEOLOGY
At the cycle startup, the resin flows through the composite thickness, following the temperature decreasing of viscosity for temperature raising After the gel time, the curing reaction dominates the resin rheology increasing of viscosity for temperature raising It is important not to harden the composite before the maximum mandrel expansion
Page 14
HOW DOES THE CURING WORK?
GLASS TRANSITION
Page 15
PTS deposition
Winding mandrel
VEGAZefiro 9 - DM00 Insulated Case manufacturing
Vacuum bag application
Vulcanization in autoclave
Page 16
Zefiro 23 DM00 FW production campaign

Page 17
COMPOSITE CASE FILAMENT WINDING
Page 18
THE THERMAL INSULATION
Page 19
The Thermal Insulation

The Thermal Insulation are composite materials:
Base rubber
The most common is EPDM : Ethylene-Propylene-Diene Copolymer, stable until 290C
Anti-flame Filler
Can be silica-based, heavy metals oxides or cyclic hydro carbide, stable until 275C
Structural Reinforce / Filler

Can be anisotropic (spherical), tyxotropic, chop (fiber orientation during manufacturing) or structural as for PTS (fabric), in general selected to be stable until 500C
Additives
Plasticizer, vulcanization agents (commonly peroxides)
Page 20
Thermal Insulation
THE VULCANIZATION
The vulcanization creates cross-links inside the polymeric chain of the rubber matrix The reactivity can be studied by rheology, to optimize the vulcanization cycle (take care the scale up effect) The final thermal insulation shows mechanical properties to be measured for fitting the requirement and check the good vulcanization:
Hardness (shoreA) Tensile strength Shear strength Compression strength
Page 21
Thermal Insulation
COMBUSTION GASES
HOW DOES IT WORK? ABLATIVE EFFECT
CHARRED DECOMPOSING NEAT
Thermal Insulation
TGA analysis
The Thermal Insulation shows low thermal conductivity and high specific heat The Thermal Insulation has a endothermic thermal decomposition under non oxidative environment small contribution for heat absorption At the steady state, the multiple layer of : charred decomposing neat material ensure to keep the insulation
Thermal Conductivity analysis
Page 22
Thermal Insulation
Components weighting
MATERIAL MANUFACTURING MAIN STEPS
Calender phase
Mixing by means: Open mixer or Bambury
Vulcanization
Deposition or Loose part shaping

Bobbins Sheets of different thickness Page 23
THE BONDING
Page 24
The Bonding - 1
Almost everything inside the Solid Rocket Motor is bonded, creating several interfaces: Thermal Insulation to Case Propellant to Thermal Insulation Nozzle parts (c-c to carbon-phenolic or c-ph to c-ph) Nozzle to case (igniter) External Thermal Insulation to case Harness to SRM External Surface
Page 25
The Bonding - 2
The base principles of a good bonding are:
Surfaces preparation
Suitable Roughness (sandblasting or sandpaper) Cleaning
Adhesives selection
Chemical affinity with the interfaces for high strength bonding If interfaces are not of the same chemical nature (i.e. metal vs rubber), use substances to promoting the adhesion primer
Cycle
Select to use warm or cold bonding Fine characterize the materials and adhesives reactivity Be careful to scale up from Lab to full scale Choose the suitable tests (U.S., X-Ray, follow up specimens or in-situ check)
Page 26
The Bonding - 3
WARM BONDING
METALLIC CASE PRIMER THERMAL INSULATION EPOXY ADHESIVE THERMAL INSULATION COMPOSITE CASE THERMAL INSULATION PROPELLANT
EPOXY ADHESIVE
POLYURETHANE ADHESIVE
COLD BONDING
CARBON CARBON CARBON PHENOLIC CARBON PHENOLIC CARBON PHENOLIC
COMPOSITE CASE METALLIC CASE
ACRILIC or EPOXY ADHESIVE

ACRILIC or EPOXY ADHESIVE

Page 27
The Bonding 4
STRUCTURE PREPARATION FOR PROPELLANT CASTING
The Liner application is 3-4 weeks cycle:

automatic cycle
degreasing by suitable solvent drying
liner batch preparation and control liner spray application and specimens
liner pre-curing Insulated case control
transportation to the casting pit
Page 28
THE SOLID PROPELLANT
Page 29
The Solid Propellant

The main properties are:
Specific Impulse
Driven by the formulation Imposed by the Design
Burning Rate
To fit the SRM combustion requirement
Mechanical Properties
To withstand the mechanical stress of ignition and storage
Processability / Castability
To be manufactured at industrial scale with no defects Defects are source of potential hazard and uncontrolled combustion
Page 30
12th edition CVA Summer School THE COMPOSITE PROPELLANTS ARE CONSTITUTED BY:
Active Components
65 - 80% OXIDIZER Ammonium Perchlorate (A.P.)
amount and particle size affect:
CASTABILITY
0% (tactics) 15 - 20%(aerospace) FUEL Aluminum

amount and diameter influence:
CASTABILITY
11-14% BINDER
Polymer (HTPB) Plasticizer Curing System
amount and composition 10 - 14% drive:

SPECIFIC IMPULSE
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
BURNING RATE TUNING
CASTABILITY
BURNING RATE
SPECIFIC IMPULSE
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
Page 31
The Solid Propellant Structure
Propellant at time 0
HTPB cured by ISOCIANATE = BINDER (including PLASTIFIER AND BONDING AGENT)
A.P. (200
4-5 m)
Aluminum (35 to 5 m) Burning rate Mod. (< 3 m)

Page 32

HTPB3 units Isocianate
The chemical reactions among the components are not completely known
Plasticizer
Ballistic Modifiers
Bonding Agent
Aziridine Ammine Esther
Aluminum
Curing Catalyst Others?

Ammonium Perchlorate
Page 33
The Solid Propellant Current Technology

Either for the process as for the combustion, there is no modeling for completely design, tuning and characterize the solid propellant
No possible to theoretically design a propellant formulation, BUT, nevertheless, it is not a KIND OF MAGIC
EXPERIMENTAL AND CHEMISTRY ARE THE UNIQUE WAYS TO ASSESS PERFORMANCE AND PROCESSABILITY
Page 34
ENERGETIC PERFORMANCE
Page 35

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12th edition CVA Summer School

SOLID ROCKET MOTORS MATERIALS AND PROCESSES

Colleferro 8th of July 2011

12th edition CVA Summer School

12th edition CVA Summer School

Colleferro 8th of July 2011

12th edition CVA Summer School

Colleferro 8th of July 2011

12th edition CVA Summer School

THE SOLID ROCKET MOTOR Structure and Components

Colleferro 8th of July 2011

12th edition CVA Summer School

Solid Propellant External Thermal Insulation

12th edition CVA Summer School Payload Composite

Mass at Lift-off [kg] Reference mission performance [kg] Structural Ratio

AVUM & IS34

VEGA LAUNCHER ARCHITECTURE

Colleferro 8th of July 2011

12th edition CVA Summer School

THE MOTOR CASE

Colleferro 8th of July 2011

12th edition CVA Summer School

Solid Rocket Motor Case

12th edition CVA Summer School

Solid Rocket Motor Case

METALLIC CASE MAIN STEPS

2 - DEGREASING 3 - SANDBLASTING 4 - ADHESIVES APPLICATION

5 - UNCURED T.I. DEPOSITION

6 . MANUAL DEPOSITION 7 - VULCANIIZATION 8 - ULTRASOUND CHECK

10-FINAL APPLICATION 11-SHIPPING

Colleferro 8th of July 2011

12th edition CVA Summer School

Solid Rocket Motor Case

METALLIC CASE MAIN STEPS

U.S. EQUIPMENT DEGREASING UNCURED T.I. DEPOSITION

AUTOCLAVE VERTICAL LATHE

Colleferro 8th of July 2011

12th edition CVA Summer School

Solid Rocket Motor Case

METALLIC CASE INNER SURFACE

12th edition CVA Summer School

Solid Rocket Motor Case

COMPOSITE CASE MAIN STEPS

THERMAL PROTECTION APPLICATION ONTO THE MANDREL MANDREL INTEGRATION

EXTERNAL HOOP WINDING

PTS : Reinforced Thermal Protections (Avio patent)

12th edition CVA Summer School

Solid Rocket Motor Case

HOW DOES THE CURING WORK? RHEOLOGY

Colleferro 8th of July 2011

12th edition CVA Summer School

Solid Rocket Motor Case

HOW DOES THE CURING WORK?

Colleferro 8th of July 2011

12th edition CVA Summer School

Solid Rocket Motor Case

COMPOSITE CASE MAIN STEPS

VEGAZefiro 9 - DM00 Insulated Case manufacturing

Vacuum bag application

Colleferro 8th of July 2011

12th edition CVA Summer School

Solid Rocket Motor Case

COMPOSITE CASE MAIN STEPS