S R M .

xls Written by:

Solid Rocket Motor Performance Version:
Date:

Instructions for use: Enter required data in the blue-outlined cells (with blue text)
Then click on the Solve buttons (1-3)

Introduction

This spreadsheet was created in order to predict the performance of a Solid Rocket
Motor (SRM). Although there are many factors which make an exact prediction
of actual performance difficult, it was felt that a reasonably close approximation
to expected performance would be attainable, and be very useful for design purposes.

The two most significant factors that will affect the actual (delivered) performance
compared to predicted are propellant preparation and nozzle construction. Propellant
preparation affects the burn rate characteristics and combustion efficiency. Care must
be taken to have propellant constituents well-blended and of consistent oxidizer particle
size (see "Conditions for Applicability", Burnrate worksheet). The nozzle efficiency can
be enhanced through careful contouring and polishing of flow surfaces.

Another factor that leads to inaccuracy in prediction is that the analysis assumes that
ignition of the propellant occurs on all surfaces immediately and simultaneously. As
well, burnout of the propellant is assumed to occur instantaneously. In reality, burning
would normally initiate on those surfaces directly exposed to the ignition flame only,
and as the chamber pressure rises, ignition occurs then on the remaining exposed
propellant surfaces. The net affect is that the actual pressure rise and tail-off occur
less rapidly than predicted, resulting in a more "rounded" shape to the pressure/time
curve.

In particular, erosive burning is difficult to model. This spreadsheet uses a simple

erosive burning model, intended more for contemplative purpose than actual prediction.

Pressure and performance predictions are based upon standard thermodynamic

and fluid flow equations, in conjunction with empirically obtained parameters that
relate propellant burn rate to pressure. These parameters (a,n) are provided for
two propellants: Potassium Nitrate/Dextrose, and Potassium Nitrate/Sorbitol, of
the standard oxidizer/ fuel ratio of 65/35 (hereafter referred to as KNDX and KNSO,
respectively). These particular parameters were obtained through a comprehensive
series of Strand Burner measurements.

This spreadsheet is intended primarily for designing rocket motors that use KNDX
and KNSO as propellants, however, other propellants may be specified, as long as
the required properties are inputted by the user (see Propellant Data and Burnrate
worksheets).
Note that this spreadsheet is solely intended for hollow-cylindrical propellant grains
(including BATES). Any number of segments may be specified. The user can also
specify which surfaces are to be inhibited from burning (if any).

To provide guidance in use of this spreadsheet, and to clarify various terms,

"pop up" text boxes will appear over cells with a red corner flag. These may be
disabled via the Tools/Options/View/Comments menu.

Problems:

If the message #DIV0! appears in a calculation cell, the most likely cause is that
the value of Kn that is specified is too low. In reality, this means that the burning
rate of the propellant is not great enough to allow pressure to build up in the motor.
(i.e. throat is too large). The solution is to change the value of Kn to a higher value.
Another problem relates to non-convergence of a solution. If this occurs, the message
#NUM! will appear in a calculation cell. This can sometimes be overcome by simply
quitting Excel and re-starting the application.

Please forward any comments, suggestions, or notice of problems to the author:

www.nakka-rocketry.net
 Richard A.Nakka
1.00 (for free distribution)
6 April 2002

olid Rocket

sign purposes.

on. Propellant
cy. Care must
oxidizer particle
efficiency can

assumes that

eality, burning

ressure/time

ctual prediction.
, the message
Basic Data and Kn Calculation

Title: A/50C-E2
Epoksal 6 BATES
Hint! To directly convert inches to mm, simply type =25.4*number where number is dimension in inches.
Motor chamber:
Dc 44 mm Chamber diameter (inside)
Lc 500.0 mm Chamber length (inside)
Vc 760265 mm3 Chamber volume (empty)
Propellant grain:
Type 3 1=KN/Dextrose (65/35), 2=KN/Sorbitol (65/35), 3=other

web thickness
Do 39.00 mm Outer diameter (initial)
do 16 mm Core diameter (initial) Graph 1
Lo 58.5 mm Segment length (initial)
450
N 6 Number of segments
400
Outer surface: 0 1=exposed, 0=inhibited
350
Core: 1 1=exposed, 0=inhibited
300
Ends: 1 1=exposed, 0=inhibited
Lgo 351 mm Grain length (initial) Kn 250
200
Vg 348729 mm3 Grain volume (initial)
150
Vl 0.459 Volumetric loading fraction
100
r' grain 1.869 g/cm3 Grain ideal density 50
0.9 Density ratio (actual/ideal) 0
r grain 1.682 g/cm3 Grain actual density 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
m grain 0.587 kg. Grain mass (initial) Web Regression (mm)
Abeo 11922 mm2 End burning area (initial) Column M
Abco 17643 mm2 Core burning area (initial) Column G

Abso 0 mm2 Outer surface burning area (initial)

Abo 29566 mm2 Total burning area (initial) 0.00
Nozzle:
Kno 376 Ratio of Burning area / throat area (initial) Kn max 404
Ato 79 mm2 Throat cross-section area (initial) Kn min 332
Dto 10.006 mm Throat diameter (initial) Kn avg 385

e 0.0 mm Nozzle erosion

Dtf 10.01 mm Throat diameter (final)
Chamber
Inner Dia:
Length:

Grain
Outer Dia:
Core Dia:
Segment Length:
# Segments

Kno

Nozzle Dia:
 Chamber pressure (MPa)
Rocket Motor chamber pressure
Graph 2A

1.2

1.0
R' 8314 J/mol-K Universal gas constant
0.8
M 45.2 kg/kmol Effective molecular wt.of products
R 183.9 J/kg-K Specific gas constant 0.6

k 1.13 Ratio of specific heats, mixture 0.4

hc 0.9 Combustion efficiency
0.2
To 1800 K Ideal combustion temperature
0.0
To act 1620 K Actual chamber temperature
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0
Patm 0.101 MPa Ambient pressure Time (sec.)
c* 860 m/s Characteristic exhaust velocity
G* 6 Propellant erosive burning area ratio threshold Pmax = 1.05 MPa
kv 0 Propellant erosive burning velocity coefficient t burn = 8.006 s.
t thrust = 8.037 s.
Rocket Motor Performance
Graph 3A
k 1.03 Ratio of specific heats, 2-ph. flow
h noz 0.70 Nozzle efficiency

Thrust (N.)
80
Ae/At 8.00 Nozzle expansion ratio (initial)
Patm 0.101 MPa Ambient pressure 70
Ato 78.6 mm2 Throat cross-section area (initial) 60
Ae 629.1 mm2 Nozzle exit cross-section area
Meo 2.953 0.00 Mach No. at nozzle exit (initial) 50
Mef 2.953 0.00 Mach No. at nozzle exit (final) 40
De 28.30 mm Nozzle exit diameter
Ae/At opt 2.806 Optimum Nozzle expansion ratio at Po max 30
Ae/At opt 2.468 Avg. optimum nozzle expansion ratio
20
wf 0.600 Web fraction
CFmax 0.914 Thrust coefficient, maximum 10
F max 76 N. Maximum thrust
0
It 504 N-sec. Total impulse
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0
Isp 87.6 sec. Specific impulse, delivered
Class: I Motor classification Time (sec.)

F max = 76 N.
0.00 F avg = 63 N.
t thrust = 8.037 sec.
Motor Output Data

This page presents a summary of the key parameters of motor performance, which
may be used in trajectory simulation software, such as SOAR. Chamber (inches)
Inner Dia: 1.72
A/50C-E2 Length: 12
Epoksal 6 BATES
Grain mass 0.587 kg. Grain (inches)
1.293 lb. Outer Dia: 1.71
Total impulse 504.1 N-sec. Core Dia: 0.8
113.3 lb-sec. Segment Length: 1.2
Average thrust 62.7 N. # Segments 10
14.1 lb.
Thrust time 8.037 sec. Kno 1000
Specific Impulse 87.6 sec. Max PSI: 153
Motor Classification I 63 Nozzle Dia: 0.393931

Thrust (Newtons)
Thrust-time data [see note 1]
Time step 0.3961 sec. [see note2]

Data pt. Time Thrust Thrust

80
(sec.) (N.) (lb.) 70
1 0.000 0 0 60
2 0.475 61 14 50
40
3 0.484 61 14
30
4 0.875 65 15 20
5 1.262 68 15 10
6 1.637 71 16 0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0
7 2.004 73 16 Time (seconds)
8 2.365 75 17
Thrust (Pounds)

9 2.722 75 17
10 3.077 76 17
11 3.432 75 17
12 3.790 74 17
18
13 4.153 72 16 16
14 4.523 70 16 14
15 4.902 67 15 12
10
16 5.294 63 14 8
17 5.701 60 13 6
4
18 6.126 55 12 2
19 6.573 51 11 0
20 7.046 47 10 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0
21 7.548 42 9 Time (seconds)

22 8.010 32 7
23 8.037 0 0

[1 ] This table approximates the actual thrust-time profile.

[2] The effective time increment between data points.
0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0
ds)

0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0

ds)
Propellant Data

Propellant & combustion products physical/thermochemical properties

Propellant type [Type 1] [Type 2]
symb. units notes KNDX-65/35 KNSO-65/35
Grain mass density, ideal r p g/cm3 1.879 1.841
Ratio of specific heats, 2-ph. k - [1] 1.043 1.042
Ratio of specific heats, mixture k - [2] 1.1308 1.1361
Effective molecular wt. M kg/kmol [3] 42.39 39.9
Chamber temperature To K [4] 1710 1600

Notes: [1] For the dynamic (zero lag) gas-particle mixture.

[2] For the static gas-particle mixture.
[3] Given by system mass divided by number of gas moles
[4] Adiabatic flame temperature.

Additional Notes: KNDX-65/35 = Potassium Nitrate/Dextrose, 65/35 O/F ratio

KNSO-65/35 = Potassium Nitrate/Sorbitol, 65/35 O/F ratio
KNSU-65/35 = Potassium Nitrate/Sucrose, 65/35 O/F ratio
properties
[Type 3] Other
Epoksal
1.869
1.03
1.13
45.2
1800

er of gas moles in system.

Propellant Burn Rate Empirical Data

KN-Dextrose 65/35 O/F

Pressure range a n Pressure range a n
Pressure, psia psi, in/sec Pressure, Mpa Mpa, mm/sec
14.7 to 113 0.016 0.619 0.100 to 0.779 8.875 0.619
113 to 373 0.311 -0.009 0.779 to 2.572 7.553 -0.009
373 to 860 0.005 0.688 2.572 to 5.930 3.841 0.688
860 to 1233 1.416 -0.148 5.930 to 8.502 17.20 -0.148
1233 to 1625 0.021 0.442 8.502 to 11.20 4.775 0.442

KN-Sorbitol 65/35 O/F

Pressure range a n Pressure range a n
Pressure, psia psi, in/sec Pressure, Mpa Mpa, mm/sec
14 to 117 0.019 0.625 0.101 to 0.807 10.708 0.625
117 to 218 1.648 -0.314 0.807 to 1.503 8.763 -0.314
218 to 550 0.330 -0.013 1.503 to 3.792 7.852 -0.013
550 to 1020 0.011 0.535 3.792 to 7.033 3.907 0.535
1020 to 1548 0.277 0.064 7.033 to 10.67 9.653 0.064

Conditions for applicability:

Oxidizer particle size 60-125 mm majority *
Blending time (powdered) 1hr/100g. typical
Temperature 20C.
* e.g. milled in electric coffee grinder for 20 sec.
Burn rate (mm/s)

16
14
12
10
Column
8 P
6
4
2
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Pressure (MPa)

Other propellant
RNX-73
Pressure range a n Pressure range a n
Pressure, psia psi, in/sec Pressure, Mpa Mpa, mm/sec
 0 to 5000 0.0012 0.800 0 to
5000 to 5000 0 to
5000 to 5000 0 to
5000 to 5000 0 to
5000 to 5000 0 to
Important: Enter data either in English or S.I. cells, not in both.
Column highlighted in light blue must be completely filled in !
0.0 to 34.5 1.57 0.800 0.0 to 4.8 0.44 13.771
34.5 to 34.5 0.00
Burn rate vs pressure 0.000 0.0 to 4.8 0.44 13.909
Burn rate vs pressure
34.5 to 34.5 0.00 units)0.000
Other (English 0.0 to 4.8 0.44 14.044
Other (S.I. Units)

Burn rate (mm/s)

34.5 to 34.5 0.00 0.000 0.0 to 0.0 0.00 0.000
Burn rate (in/s)

34.5
0.4 to 34.5 0.00 0.000 0.0 to 0.0 1 0.00 0.000

0.9
0.35
0.8
0.30 0 0 0
0.7
100 0.04578 1 0
0.25 0.6
200 0.07971 2 0
300
0.2 0.11025 3 0 0.5
400 0.13879 4 0
0.4
0.15
500 0.16591 5 0
600 0.19196 6 0 0.3
0.1
700 0.21716 7 0 0.2
800 0.24164 8 0
0.05 0.1
900 0.26552 9 0
1000
0 0.28887 10 0 0
1100 0 0.31175
200 400 600 800 1000 11 1400
1200 0 0 2 4 6 8 10
1200 0.33423 Pressure (psi) 12 0 Pressure (MPa)
1300 0.35633 13 0
 0.25 0 0.25 8.944

Mpa a n r Mpa a
0.1 8.875445 0.6193 2.132505 0.1035 10.70768
0.25 8.875445 0.6193 3.761269 0.2505 10.70768
0.5 8.875445 0.6193 5.777797 0.3975 10.70768
0.779 8.875445 0.6193 7.6036 0.5445 10.70768
1.029 7.552784 -0.0087 7.550906 0.6915 10.70768
1.279 7.552784 -0.0087 7.536632 0.807 8.76328
1.529 7.552784 -0.0087 7.524935 0.954 8.76328
1.779 7.552784 -0.0087 7.515027 1.101 8.76328
2.029 7.552784 -0.0087 7.506435 1.248 8.76328
2.279 7.552784 -0.0087 7.498851 1.395 8.76328
2.572 3.84088 0.6882 7.358329 1.503 8.76328
2.822 3.84088 0.6882 7.843395 1.65 7.852166
3.072 3.84088 0.6882 8.315225 1.797 7.852166
3.322 3.84088 0.6882 8.775219 1.944 7.852166
3.572 3.84088 0.6882 9.224533 2.091 7.852166
3.822 3.84088 0.6882 9.664139 2.238 7.852166
4.072 3.84088 0.6882 10.09486 2.385 7.852166
4.322 3.84088 0.6882 10.51741 2.532 7.852166
4.572 3.84088 0.6882 10.93241 2.679 7.852166
4.822 3.84088 0.6882 11.34038 2.826 7.852166
5.072 3.84088 0.6882 11.74181 2.973 7.852166
5.322 3.84088 0.6882 12.13711 3.12 7.852166
5.572 3.84088 0.6882 12.52667 3.267 7.852166
5.93 17.20419 -0.1481 13.21736 3.414 7.852166
6.18 17.20419 -0.1481 13.13677 3.561 7.852166
6.43 17.20419 -0.1481 13.05985 3.792 7.852166
6.68 17.20419 -0.1481 12.98628 3.939 3.906768
6.93 17.20419 -0.1481 12.91581 4.086 3.906768
7.18 17.20419 -0.1481 12.84819 4.233 3.906768
7.43 17.20419 -0.1481 12.78323 4.38 3.906768
7.68 17.20419 -0.1481 12.72073 4.527 3.906768
7.93 17.20419 -0.1481 12.66053 4.674 3.906768
8.18 17.20419 -0.1481 12.60246 4.821 3.906768
8.5 17.20419 -0.1481 12.53104 4.968 3.906768
8.75 4.775241 0.4417 12.44745 5.115 3.906768
9 4.775241 0.4417 12.6033 5.262 3.906768
9.25 4.775241 0.4417 12.75675 5.409 3.906768
9.5 4.775241 0.4417 12.90791 5.556 3.906768
9.75 4.775241 0.4417 13.05686 5.703 3.906768
10 4.775241 0.4417 13.20369 5.85 3.906768
10.25 4.775241 0.4417 13.34849 5.997 3.906768
10.5 4.775241 0.4417 13.49132 6.144 3.906768
10.75 4.775241 0.4417 13.63228 6.291 3.906768
 11 4.775241 0.4417 13.77141 6.438 3.906768
11.25 4.775241 0.4417 13.90879 6.585 3.906768
11.5 4.775241 0.4417 14.04448 6.732 3.906768
6.879 3.906768
7.033 9.653204
7.18 9.653204
7.327 9.653204
7.474 9.653204
Burn rate vs pressure 7.621 9.653204
Other (S.I. Units) 7.768 9.653204
7.915 9.653204
8.062 9.653204
8.209 9.653204
8.356 9.653204
8.503 9.653204
8.65 9.653204
8.797 9.653204
8.944 9.653204
9.091 9.653204
9.238 9.653204
9.385 9.653204
9.532 9.653204
9.679 9.653204
9.826 9.653204
9.973 9.653204
10.12 9.653204
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 10.267 9.653204
Pressure (MPa) 10.414 9.653204
10.561 9.653204
10.708 9.653204
10.855 9.653204
11.002 9.653204
 n r
0.6247 2.596144
0.6247 4.509524
0.6247 6.017297
0.6247 7.324423
0.6247 8.503813
-0.3142 9.374045
-0.3142 8.893907
-0.3142 8.502314
-0.3142 8.174027
-0.3142 7.892989
-0.3142 7.71021
-0.013 7.801214
-0.013 7.792563
-0.013 7.784602
-0.013 7.777228
-0.013 7.770363
-0.013 7.763939
-0.013 7.757905
-0.013 7.752215
-0.013 7.746834
-0.013 7.741728
-0.013 7.736873
-0.013 7.732244
-0.013 7.727821
-0.013 7.723587
-0.013 7.717278
0.5354 8.139305
0.5354 8.300549
0.5354 8.459119
0.5354 8.615151
0.5354 8.768768
0.5354 8.920085
0.5354 9.069206
0.5354 9.216229
0.5354 9.361245
0.5354 9.504337
0.5354 9.645583
0.5354 9.785057
0.5354 9.922827
0.5354 10.05896
0.5354 10.19351
0.5354 10.32653
0.5354 10.45809
0.5354 10.58822
0.5354 10.71698
0.5354 10.84441
0.5354 10.97056
0.0638 10.93249
0.0638 10.94693
0.0638 10.96109
0.0638 10.97499
0.0638 10.98864
0.0638 11.00204
0.0638 11.01521
0.0638 11.02815
0.0638 11.04087
0.0638 11.05338
0.0638 11.06568
0.0638 11.07779
0.0638 11.08971
0.0638 11.10144
0.0638 11.11299
0.0638 11.12437
0.0638 11.13558
0.0638 11.14663
0.0638 11.15751
0.0638 11.16825
0.0638 11.17884
0.0638 11.18928
0.0638 11.19958
0.0638 11.20974
0.0638 11.21977
0.0638 11.22967
0.0638 11.23944
0.0638 11.24909
 English -> Metric Converter Metric -> English Converter

Length 2 inch -> 50.8 mm. Length 25

Length 1 inch -> 2.54 cm. Length 3
Mass 1 lb(mass) -> 0.4536 kg. Mass 1
Force 1 lb(force) -> 4.448 N. Force 1
Density 0.05736 lb/in3 -> 1.588 g/cm3 Density 1.5
Pressure 1000 lb/in2 -> 6.895 MPa. Pressure 5
Area 0.2 in2 -> 129 mm2 Area 80
Impulse 1 lb-sec -> 4.448 N-sec. Impulse 1
Temperature 100 deg.F. -> 37.8 deg.C. Temperature 100
Abs. temperature 2300 R. -> 1278 K. Abs. temperature 2300
Metric -> English Converter

mm. -> 0.984 inch

cm. -> 1.181 inch
kg. -> 2.205 lb(mass)
N. -> 0.225 lb(force)
g/cm3 -> 0.05419 lb/in3
MPa. -> 725 lb/in2
mm2 -> 0.124 in2
N-sec. -> 0.225 lb-sec
deg.C.-> 212 deg.F.
K. -> 4140 R.
 Rocket Motor Classification
Class Total Impulse
(Newton-sec.)
1.26 A 1.26 - 2.5
2.5 B 2.5 - 5
5 C 5 - 10
10 D 10 - 20
20 E 20 - 40
40 F 40 - 80
80 G 80 - 160
160 H 160 - 320
320 I 320 - 640
640 J 640 - 1280
1280 K 1280 - 2560
2560 L 2560 - 5120
5120 M 5120 - 10240
10240 N 10240 - 20480
20480 O 20480 - 40960
40960 P 40960 - 81920
81920 Q 81920 - 163840
Record of Revisions

Version Date Worksheet

Beta 1 Dec. 99 -
Beta-1 1 Sep. 00 Performance

Data and Kn
1.00 6 April 02 Propellant data

Data and Kn

Pressure

Performance
Intro

Output
(all)
 Changes
- Original release.
- Revised perfomance to take into account varying Ae/At due to throat erosion.
- Added web fraction calculation.
- Edited comment for nozzle efficiency.
- Added volumetric loading fraction calculation.
- k for static mixture added.
- Notes added.
- Fixed bug wrt computing tweb with core inhibited.
- Hint added.
- Solve buttons edited & arrow added.
- k for static mixture now used for pressure & c* computation.
- Solve buttons edited & arrow added.
- k for 2-phase flow inserted.
- URL added.
- Text modified
- New worksheet
- Various font & chart colours changed.