Page 4 - Aerotech News and Review, September 3, 2021

AFRL extends capability for testing solid rocket motors

by Joy Alich “every solid rocket motor tested has the potential for defects that
Edwards AFB, Calif. cannot be seen during manufacturing, and even in the absence of
defects, can be susceptible to damage due to external events.”
The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Rocket Propulsion Division “Data from high strain rate tests is key to preventing [uninten-
has a new capability, a Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar system, also tional damage] and AFRL will use this system to quantify material
known as a Kolsky bar, that measures stress at high strain rates and properties related to all rocket motors, including those made with
helps analyze material behavior under severe conditions. advanced manufacturing processes such as Resodyn mixing and
“This system will give AFRL a new and unprecedented capability additive manufacturing,” he said.
to test and gather data from any solid propellant we can manufac- The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific re-
ture,” said Dr. Timothy Miller, senior materials research engineer search and development center for the Department of the Air Force.
within AFRL’s Propellant Branch. “This new equipment capability AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development,
will continue to propel AFRL into the future,” he said. and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air,
Installed in AFRL’s on-site chemistry lab, the system tests solid space, and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 11,500
propellant at strain rates that correspond to threats from bullet im- across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the
pact, fragment impact and sympathetic detonations. The latter occur globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology
when unwanted detonation of a missile issues a shock wave that ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology
initiates detonation in a nearby missile. development.
“AFRL plans to use the system to test both propellant and space-
bound materials at high-strain rates so that structural models can be
developed that will pre-
dict behavior, especially
failure, in real-world
conditions,” said Miller.
Ultimately, these mod-
els will aid in designing
improved rocket motors
and satellites. This new
capability will also help
AFRL to investigate
other occurrences such
as space debris impact, Air Force photographs by Joy Alich
which can disable satel- Above and left: AFRL’s new equipment, a Split-Hopkinson
lites, and in some cases, Pressure Bar system, measures stress at high strain rates
can compromise struc- and helps analyze material behavior under severe conditions.
tures and render them Engineers from AFRL’s Rocket Propulsion Division at Edwards
useless. Air Force Base, Calif., will use the system to test and gather data
Miller explained how from solid propellants and space-bound materials.

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