Gain an appreciation and understanding of solid rocket combustion instability from internationally recognized solid propulsion experts and practitioners, Dr. Frederick Blomshield and Dr. Robert Frederick. With over 150 papers published on the subject, 35 years of experience in the field, and numerous awards and honors including becoming a NAVAIR Fellow, Dr. Blomshield is an international leader in the solid rocket combustion community. Dr. Frederick is Director of the UAH Propulsion Research Center, an Associate Fellow of the AIAA, served as a solid propulsion technical advisor to NATO, and has collaborative agreements with international universities.

Most DoD and NASA solid rockets have had some form of combustion instability during their development and life cycle. The instructors will guide participants through solid rocket combustion fundamentals. Participants learn background, empirical observations, and commonly performed computations. The class relies on real-world motor data whenever possible to illustrate stability prediction methods, amplitude and frequency analysis, response function measurement techniques and motor pulsing. Participants reinforce learning in practical case studies.

Key Takeaways:

• Understanding of basic mechanisms of combustion instability
• Learning about the driving and damping mechanisms and how to affect them
• Understanding the difference between linear and non-linear instability
• Reducing program risks associated with combustion instability
• Acquiring a list of key studies in this field
• Examining past motors with instability and how the problem was solved
• Examining several case studies of solid rocket instability
• Knowing how to instrument test articles to diagnose instability
• Interpreting test data in both amplitude and frequency domains to understand modes and causes of instability
• Applying basic concepts to reduce or eliminate instability
• Predicting performance with practical algorithms

This course is included in the Rocket Propulsion Certificate.

Earn 3.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).