AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE

EROSIVE BURNING EFFECT

V. N. Vilyunov and A. A. Dvoryashin UDC 536.46+662.311.1

In [1-5] it was found that a flow p a r a l l e l to the burning s u r f a c e of a p r o p e l l a n t changes its l i n e a r b u r n -

ing r a t e . TMs effect is usually called e r o s i v e burning. The burning r a t e m a y r i s e or fall (positive and
negative erosion, r e s p e c t i v e l y ) . P o s i t i v e e r o s i o n has a w e l l - e s t a b l i s h e d p h y s i c a l explanation: the higher
burning r a t e is attributable to an i n c r e a s e in the effective t h e r m a l conductivity and diffusion coefficients
in the developed s m a l l - s c a l e turbulent p r o d u c t flow ( D a m k b ~ l e r - S h e h e l k i n effect). With r e g a r d to negative
e r o s i o n it is p o s s i b l e to advance two hypotheses.

Experimental Setup
The l a b o r a t o r y setup is shown s c h e m a t i c a l l y in Fig. 1. The combustion p r o d u c t s of the m a i n c h a r g e
and the control s p e c i m e n burning u n d e r c o n s t a n t - p r e s s u r e bomb conditions, i.e., in the absence of a d i r e c -
tional g a s flow, a r e a c c e l e r a t e d in the subsonic nozzle. Then the gas flow acts on the t e s t s p e c i m e n . By
v a r y i n g the burning s u r f a c e of the m a i n charge, the t h r o a t section of the s u p e r s o n i c nozzle, and the c r o s s -
s e c t i o n a l a r e a of the e r o s i o n zone it is p o s s i b l e to e n s u r e v a r i o u s p r e s s u r e l e v e l s and e r o s i o n conditions.
The control and t e s t s p e c i m e n s a r e identical in composition.

Treatment of the Experimental Data

One of the authors [1] has shown that the e r o s i o n coefficient e = Vu/V is a function of the d i m e n s i o n -
less parameter

I= a__s V;T'
tn

H e r e , Vu is the l i n e a r burning r a t e in the gas flow; v is the burning r a t e in a c o n s t a n t - p r e s s u r e bomb;

u is the gas flow velocity; p is the gas density; m is the m a s s burning r a t e u n d e r n o r m a l conditions (in the
a b s e n c e of a gas flow); and ~ is the r e s i s t a n c e coefficient, which in the f i r s t approximation is given by the
Blasius f o r m u l a
= 0,316 Re -~ (1)
or the Nikuradze f o r m u l a

-----0.0032 -b 0.221 Re -~ (2)

The e r o s i o n coefficient e and the p a r a m e t e r I w e r e calculated f r o m Eqs.
1 2 (3) and (4), r e s p e c t i v e l y :
Fig. 1. Schematic r e p r e -
sentation of the e x p e r i -
m e n t a l setup, 1) C o m b u s -
tion c h a m b e r ; 2) e r o s i o n
zone; 3) s u p e r s o n i c nozzle; where p is the p r e s s u r e in the combustion c h a m b e r , Pu i s the p r e s s u r e
4) t e s t s p e c i m e n ; 5) sub- in the e r o s i o n zone; v i s the exponent in the combustion law, a~u0 and u ~ f
sonic nozzle; 6) m a i n c h a r g e a r e the weights of the t e s t s p e c i m e n b e f o r e and a f t e r the e x p e r i m e n t ;
7) control s p e c i m e n .

Tomsk. T r a n s l a t e d f r o m Fizika Goreniya i Vzryva, No. 1, pp. 45-51, J a n u a r y - M a r c h , 1971. Original

a r t i c l e submitted May 19, 1970.

9 1973 Consultants Bureau, a division of Plenum Publishing Corporation, 227 West 17th Street, New York,
N. Y. 10011. All rights reserved. This article cannot be reproduced for any purpose whatsoever without
permission of the publisher. A copy of this article is available from the publisher for $15.00.

38
 0J0 and wk a r e the w e i g h t s of the c o n t r o l s p e c i m e n b e f o r e and a f t e r the e x p e r i m e n t ;
3
]: I1 1/--~; 11 : (---~--P/ ~ ~c+ -~-~r , (4)
\Pu/ S

w h e r e ~e is the c o m b u s t i o n s u r f a c e of the m a i n c h a r g e ; ~ is the c o m b u s t i o n s u r f a c e of the t e s t s p e c i m e n ;

s is the c l e a r c r o s s s e c t i o n (annular gap).
The p r e s s u r e drop is given by the equation
k

H e r e , k is the adiabatic exponent; k = u / c , is the gas v e l o c i t y coefficient; c , is the c r i t i c a l s o n i c v e l o c i t y .

T h e R e y n o l d s n u m b e r in (1) and (2) is found f r o m the f o r m u l a
Re = 4s 4 ~ u v
9 ~du '

w h e r e p is the c o e f f i c i e n t of v i s c o s i t y of the c o m b u s t i o n p r o d u c t s , d u is the d i a m e t e r of the t e s t s p e c i m e n ,

and Pu is the p r o p e l l a n t d e n s i t y .

Results of the Experiments

We i n v e s t i g a t e d the e r o s i v e b u r n i n g of a b a l l i s t i t e (N powder) u s i n g c y l i n d r i c a l s p e c i m e n s 8 m m in
d i a m e t e r and 45 m m in l e n g t h with p r o t e c t e d ends. The e x p e r i m e n t s w e r e p e r f o r m e d at two p r e s s u r e
l e v e l s : 50 and 80 k g f / c m 2 . T h e p a r a m e t e r I v a r i e d o n t h e i n t e r v a l 1< I< 10 (at p = 50 k g f / c m 2 this c o r r e s p o n d s
to v a r i a t i o n of the flow v e l o c i t y f r o m 12 to 140 m / s e c ) .
The r e s u l t s of the e x p e r i m e n t s a r e p r e s e n t e d in Fig. 2, w h e r e a has b e e n plotted a g a i n s t I. As m a y be
s e e n f r o m the graph, the e r o s i o n coefficient, r e p r e s e n t e d as a function of the d i m e n s i o n l e s s p a r a m e t e r I,
is a l m o s t independent of p r e s s u r e , which is c o n s i s t e n t with the t h e o r y of [1], w h e r e the ~(I) c u r v e s w e r e
a s s u m e d to be u n i v e r s a l .

On the e x p e r i m e n t a l a(I) c u r v e it is p o s s i b l e to d i s t i n g u i s h t h r e e e r o s i v e b u r n i n g r e g i m e s . On the

i n t e r v a l 0 =< I -< I . , w h e r e I , = 1.6 - the f i r s t t h r e s h o l d v a l u e of the p a r a m e t e r I - the e r o s i o n c o e f f i c i e n t
is equal to unity. In this r e g i o n of v a r i a t i o n of I the gas flow o v e r the b u r n i n g s u r f a c e does not affect the
l i n e a r b u r n i n g r a t e . On the i n t e r v a l I , < I < I * * . w h e r e I** = 5.6 - the s e c o n d t h r e s h o l d value - the e r o s i o n
c o e f f i c i e n t is l e s s than unity, and the p r e s e n c e of a gas flow l e a d s to a d e c r e a s e in b u r n i n g r a t e - n e g a t i v e
e r o s i o n . T h e s e o b s e r v a t i o n s a r e a t t r i b u t a b l e to the s t r u c t u r e of the turbulent flow and its e f f e c t on the
t r a n s p o r t c o e f f i c i e n t s and the r e a c t i o n r a t e .

The d e p e n d e n c e of the e r o s i o n c o e f f i c i e n t on the p a r a m e t e r I can be r e p r e s e n t e d in the e m p i r i c a l

form
1 at O~I~l,,

I
~= 0.0125P--0.09/+
(1 -b 0,04 (I - - I** I
1,11 at
at
I,<l~I**,
I > I,~, (5)
I , = 1.6; l** = 5.6.

In u s i n g Eqs. (5) it is n e c e s s a r y to take into a c c o u n t that the e r o -

t,!
sion c o e f f i c i e n t is e x p r e s s e d in t e r m s of l o c a l v a l u e s of the
p a r a m e t e r I ( i n s t a n t a n e o u s flow velocity). However, in b a l l i s t i c
~,o c a l c u l a t i o n s it is u s u a l to e m p l o y p a r a m e t e r s a v e r a g e d along the
I r
c h a r g e , f o r e x a m p l e , the a v e r a g e p r e s s u r e , a v e r a g e g a s v e l o c i t y ,
etc. In this c a s e it is n e c e s s a r y to i n t r o d u c e the a v e r a g e d value
t 1,2 J 4 sz,,G 7 8 9 ~0 of the e r o s i o n c o e f f i c i e n t d e t e r m i n e d , f o r e x a m p l e , as the i n t e g r a l
Fig. 2. E r o s i o n c o e f f i c i e n t of a
b a l l i s t i t e as a function of the p a -
'Y ~dx,
<~>=T
L

(6)
r a m e t e r I. 1) 50 atm; 2) 8 0 a t m . o

39
where L is the length of the charge over which the averaging is p e r f o r m e d . Assuming in the f i r s t approxi-
mation that the local p a r a m e t e r I v a r i e s linearly along the charge, we obtain

1 = x__ i v (7)
L
where I L is the value of the p a r a m e t e r I at the nozzle end of the charge.
If we substitute in (6) the e x p r e s s i o n for e(I} at I > I** (5), then, using (7), we obtain

0.02 ..
(~) = 1 + - 7 ~ - L t z L - 5 , 6 1 ~. (8)
Where n e c e s s a r y , using Eqs. (5) and (8) and the definition of the p a r a m e t e r I, we can e x p r e s s the
e r o s i o n coefficient explicitly in t e r m s of the p r e s s u r e and flow velocity.

Possible Explanation of t h e Negative Erosion Effect

The f i r s t hypothesis t r e a t s negative e r o s i o n as a consequence of a d e c r e a s e in reaction rate in the
p r e s e n c e of l a r g e - s c a l e turbulence.
We r e p r e s e n t the r e a c t i o n rate r as a function of the d i m e n s i o n l e s s F r a n k - K a m e n e t s k i i t e m p e r a -
ture 0 = (E/RTI2) (T 1 - T):
(O(0)> =(A~ne-~ (9)

where E is the activation energy; R is the gas constant; T 1 i s t h e flow gas t e m p e r a t u r e ; T is the reactant
t e m p e r a t u r e ; n is the o r d e r of the reaction; A is a constant coefficient. The b r a c k e t s ( ) denote the o p e r a -
tion of Reynolds averaging o r an a v e r a g e d quantity.
We write the actual value of the d i m e n s i o n l e s s t e m p e r a t u r e as the sum of the average and fluctuating
components
0 = ( 0 > + 01

and substitute this e x p r e s s i o n in (9)

( 9 (0)) = A ( ( ( 0 ) + 0 , ) . e - ~ ~ +0,~).
Considering a z e r o - o r d e r reaction and expanding the right side in a power s e r i e s in 01, we obtain

<r + ....)
Positive and negative t e m p e r a t u r e fluctuations are equiprobable; accordingly, all the odd-power t e r m s of
the s e r i e s drop out. We will confine o u r s e l v e s to four t e r m s of the expansion

(.0(0)}=Ae -<~ I+ . (10)

It follows f r o m (10) that the a v e r a g e r e a c t i o n rate in the turbulent flow depends not only on t e m p e r a t u r e in
a c c o r d a n c e with the Arrhenius law but also on its fluctuations. In p a r t i c u l a r , the average r a t e of a z e r o -
o r d e r r e a c t i o n in a flow with l a r g e - s c a l e turbulence is higher than the c o r r e s p o n d i n g reaction rate in a
l a m i n a r flow.
For a first-order reaction

(r -~~
[(1
I+ 2 <0> ( 0, } 5].

F o r o r d i n a r y propellant flames in the principal r e a c t i o n zone ( 0 1; accordingly, in this case the a v e r -

age r e a c t i o n rate is l e s s than in a l a m i n a r flow.
We a s s u m e that in the flame front the scale of the t e m p e r a t u r e fluctuations is constant. The e r o s i o n
coefficient can be r e p r e s e n t e d in the f o r m of a product of two coefficients:

e=~ s .~

4O
 T h e c o e f f i c i e n t a s i s a l w a y s g r e a t e r t h a n u n i t y ; i t i s a s s o c i a t e d with t h e s m a i l - s c a l e t u r b u l e n c e and c o n -
t r i b u t e s to an i n c r e a s e in b u r n i n g r a t e a s a r e s u l t of i n t e n s i f i c a t i o n of t h e d i f f u s i o n and h e a t t r a n s f e r p r o -
c e s s e s in the t u r b u l e n t flow. F o r a f i r s t - o r d e r r e a c t i o n

el -= 1~ 2 (0> (01}".

T h i s c o e f f i c i e n t i s a s s o c i a t e d with the e f f e c t of t h e l a r g e - s c a l e f l u c t u a t i o n s on the r e a c t i o n r a t e and i s

u s u a l l y l e s s t h a n u n i t y . T h e e x i s t e n c e of t h i s c o e f f i c i e n t m a k e s i t p o s s i b l e to a c c o u n t f o r t h e n e g a t i v e e r o -
sion effect.

T h e o r y and e x p e r i m e n t show t h a t in c a s e s of p r a c t i c a l i m p o r t a n c e 1 < es < 1.5, b u t s i n c e 0 < e l < 1,

s i t u a t i o n s m a y a r i s e in w h i c h t h e p r o d u c t i s l e s s t h a n u n i t y , i . e . , ~ < 1. The m o s t f a v o r a b l e c o n d i t i o n s f o r
n e g a t i v e e r o s i o n d e v e l o p at the l a m i n a r - t u r b u l e n t t r a n s i t i o n , s i n c e l o s s of s t a b i l i t y I e a d s d i r e c t l y to l a r g e -
s c a l e f l u c t u a t i o n s , s m a l l - s c a l e t u r b u l e n c e a p p e a r i n g only at v e r y l a r g e R e y n o l d s n u m b e r s [6]. Thus, n e a r
t h e t r a n s i t i o n p o i n t ~s ~ 1 b u t ~l < 1, w h i c h l e a d s to n e g a t i v e e r o s i o n . T h i s c o n c l u s i o n i s in q u a l i t a t i v e
a g r e e m e n t with o u r e x p e r i m e n t a l d a t a .

A c c o r d i n g to the s e c o n d h y p o t h e s i s n e g a t i v e e r o s i o n can b e e x p l a i n e d f r o m t h e s t a n d p o i n t of s m a l l -
s c a l e t u r b u l e n c e a s a c o n s e q u e n c e of t h e i n e q u a l i t y of t h e t r a n s p o r t c o e f f i c i e n t s , i . e . , t h e d i f f u s i o n c o e f f i -
c i e n t and t h e r m a l d i f f u s i v i t y (both the l a m i n a r v a l u e s a n d t h e i r t u r b u l e n t a n a l o g u e s ) .

F o r a l a m i n a r f l a m e d i s t r i b u t i o n t h e l i n e a r b u r n i n g r a t e c a n b e e x p r e s s e d a s f o l l o w s [7]:
( a )n,2,
v r - -b _

w h e r e a i s the t h e r m a l d i f f u s i v i t y ; D i s t h e d i f f u s i o n c o e f f i c i e n t . F o r t u r b u l e n t f l a m e p r o p a g a t i o n we h a v e
the corresponding expression

and, c o n s e q u e n t l y ,

(11)
p. ~ V/g

In Eq. (11) we s u b s t i t u t e the v i s c o s i t y r a t i o f o r t h e r a t i o of t h e t r a n s p o r t c o e f f i c i e n t s

where

a-- ar,-~-~ :/= 1; ~ D't: "* ~1.

~r a ~r D
In t h e g e n e r a l c a s e ~ ~ /3

It c a n b e shown t h a t the r a t i o of t h e t u r b u l e n t and l a m i n a r v i s c o s i t y c o e f f i c i e n t s i s p r o p o r t i o n a l to t h e

s q u a r e of t h e p a r a m e t e r I. A c c o r d i n g l y ,
n+l n

= (1 +A12) '~' (1 + B . t e ) -g (12)

T h i s d e p e n d e n c e a d m i t s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of n e g a t i v e e r o s i o n . We w i l i i n v e s t i g a t e Eq. (12), s e t t i n g I2 = x and
t a k i n g n = 1. Then ~ = (1 + Ax)/~/1 + Bx, and f o r x > 0 t h e f u n c t i o n e(x) t w i c e c r o s s e s the l i n e e = 1

x, -----0; x2 = B - - 2______AA
AZ
At x 1 < x < x2 e < 1, i . e . , n e g a t i v e e r o s i o n t a k e s p l a c e , while at x > x 2 e > 1 - the e r o s i o n [s p o s i t i v e .
T h e m i n i m u m of t h e f u n c t i o n e(x) c o r r e s p o n d s to m a x i m u m n e g a t i v e e r o s i o n . If t h e t h r e s h o l d e f f e c t i s
t a k e n into a c c o u n t , the c u r v e w i l l b e s t ~ f t e d to t h e r i g h t by an a m o u n t c o r r e s p o n d i n g to I . . The v a r i a t i o n
of the t h e o r e t i c a l f u n c t i o n e(x) i s t h e s a m e a s t h a t of the e x p e r i m e n t a l c u r v e in F i g . 2.

41
 Thus, our experiments show that it is legitimate to correlate the experimental data in the form of a
function of the dimensionless parameter I. A simple relation between the erosion coefficient and the param-
eter I, suitable for ballistic calculations, has been obtained. A theoretical explanation is offered for the
observed negative erosion effect.
In conclusion, the authors thank S. I. Spitsyn for assisting with the experiments and A. D. Kolmakov
for providing the experimental apparatus.

LITERATURE CITED
1o V. N. Vilyunov, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 136, No. 2 (1961).
2. L. Green, Voprosy Raketnoi Tekhniki, No. 6 (1954).
3. J. A. Vandenkerckhove, Voprosy Raketnoi Tekhniki, No. 3 (1959).
4. R. Heron, Voprosy Raketnoi Tekhniki, No. 6 (1963).
5. Zucrow, Osborn, and Murphy, Raketn. Tekh. i Kosmonavt., No. 3 (1965).
6. L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshits, Continuum Mechanics [in Russian], GITL (1954).
7. Ya. B. Zel'dovich, Zh. Fiz. Khim., 22, No. 1 (1948).

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