Abstract
A finite-element-based computational model is used to investigate the effects of bore cracking on stress distributions in solid rocket motors (SRMs) at various storage temperatures. Capabilities of a rocket-motor health-monitoring system are assessed based on the assumption that the proposed stress sensors are evenly distributed along the circumference of the inside of the motor case. A quantitative relationship is obtained between the crack depth and the sensor data to inversely estimate the size of bore cracks in the motor. It is shown that the proposed type of sensing system can detect critical bore cracks in SRMs.
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Acknowledgments
This work was made possible by the U.S. Air Force Research Lab at Edwards Air Force Base (AFRL), which supported the Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship Program (SFFP) administered by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). The authors gratefully acknowledge technical assistance from Jim Buswell and Herb Chelner of Micron Instruments in regards to the DBST sensors and Greg Yandek of AFRL/RQRP for the data collection of EPDM insulation material.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 3 • May 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 19, 2015
Accepted: Jul 23, 2015
Published online: Sep 24, 2015
Discussion open until: Feb 24, 2016
Published in print: May 1, 2016
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