Analysis of a Hybrid Dual-Combustion-Chamber Solid-Propellant Gas Generator

Solid-propellant gas generators (SPGGs) have a number of aerospace applications, including munitions dispersion, pilot emergency escape systems, submarine missile launching, powering actuators and valves, and short-term power supply. This work evaluates the attainable performance characteristics of a proposed dual-combustion-chamber gas generator. The work includes a simulation of the transient, thermochemical events associated with the firing of an SPGG. The simulations also include the dynamics of coupled events, such as ignition, heterogeneous combustion, and mass discharge. The baseline gas generator being simulated in this work is a hybrid SPGG inflator with two combustion chambers. Studies are made of the distribution of propellant between combustion chambers and the times at which the propellant within each combustion chamber is fired. (Author)