Numerical model of multiphase flows applied to solid propellant combustion in gun systems

Abstract

A variety of gun propulsion systems are currently being investigated and developed by the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) including those that utilize advanced solid propellant configurations. The chamber of a gun represents a closed system in which propellant is tightly packaged between the breech-end of the chamber, housing an igniter, and the base of the projectile, residing in the gun tube. Upon ignition and burning, the solid propellant in these systems takes on a highly complex structure that includes the dynamics of propellant combustion and various multiphase flow phenomena. Building on a successful history of gun propulsion modeling and simulation, it is a goal of the ARL to develop a next generation interior ballistics model, NGEN, which incorporates general continuum equations along with auxiliary relations into a single code structure that is both modular and readily transportable between computer architectures. Current interest focuses on application of a two-dimensional version of the model to gun charges in which granular propellant is contained in modular units that are loaded into the gun chamber.