Recent Developments in Solid-Propellant Binders

Abstract

The complex and important role of the propellant binder in solid-propellant rockets is described. The severe weight problems of space exploratrion cause high propellant performance to be of major concern in a highly competitive field. Binders contribute to performance, not only in terms of fuel value, but by being compatible with energetic components and by providing good mechanical properties. Both sterilization required for planetary landings and compatibility problems of new energetic oxidizers generate new requirements too stringent for existing binders; only binders composed essentially of saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon are predicted to be suitable. Several saturated-binder developments are in progress. The achievements of one of these programs, based on free-radical synthesis, are evaluated against the goals of the new binder.     

THE PHOTOADDITION OF NUCLEOPHILES TO URACIL

Abstract— Quantum yields for 254 nm ultraviolet photoaddition of the nucleophiles hydrazine, HCN, HSO₃^-, methyl amine, and BH₄^- to uracil have been measured; the quantum yields for hydrazine, HCN, and HSO₃^- additions are pH-dependent. The nucleophiles sulfide, azide, chloride, bromide, iodide, nitrite and thiocyanate failed to photo–add under similar conditions. These reactions are interpreted as 1,4-additions to the conjugated enone system of the anti-aromatic compound, uracil; as suggested by S. Y. Wang (Wang and Nnadi, 1968). The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum of the photohydrate of uracil-5-d-showed that the proton was added to the 5-position in a stereochemically random manner. The photoaddition of HSO₃^- takes place at much lower concentrations than required for the thermal addition of this anion and is also stereochemically random.     

Modelling,simulation, animation,and real-time control (MoSART) for a class of electromechanical systems: a system-theoretic approach

This paper describes an interactive modelling, simulation, animation, and real-time control (MoSART) environment for a class of ‘cart-pendulum’ electromechanical systems that may be used to enhance learning within differential equations and linear algebra classes. The environment is useful for conveying fundamental mathematical/systems concepts through computer-aided analysis, design, graphical visualization, and 3D animation. Referred to as Cart-Pendulum Control3D-Lab1Control3D-Lab-short for control 3D animation laboratory. The author to whom correspondence should be addressed., the environment is based on Microsoft Windows/Visual C++/Direct-3D and MATLAB/Simulink2MATLAB and Simulant are trademarks of The Masterworks, Inc.. Pull-down menus provide access to systems/models/control laws, exogenous signals, parameters, animation models and visual indicators, a suite of (easy-to-modify) Simulant diagrams containing models and control laws, MATLAB m-files for detailed analysis and design, and detailed documentation for each of the above. Three blocks enable animation, joystick inputs, and real-time animation within Simulant. Examples are presented to illustrate the utility of the environment as a valuable tool for analysing/visualizing the above class of electromechanical systems and for enhancing mathematics instruction.     

The single-mode rate equations for semiconductor lasers with thermal effects

A mathematical model describing the coupling of electrical,optical and thermal effects in semiconductor lasers is introduced.Numerical and asymptotic solutions are derived, including expressionsfor key physical quantities such as the initial time delay,the frequency of spike oscillation and the temperature rise,together with its influence on the photon density, the electronconcentration and the threshold current. The consequences ofthermal effects in reducing efficiency are thus quantified.     

The Saffman-Taylor problem for an extremely shear-thinning fluid

We consider a steady flow driven by pushing a finger of gasinto a highly shear-thinning power-law fluid, with exponentn, in a Hele-Shaw channel. We formulate the problem in termsof the streamfunction , which satisfies the p-Laplacian equation (with ), and investigate travelling wave solutions in the large-n (extreme shear-thinning) limit.We take a Legendre transform of the free-boundary problem for, which reduces it to a linear problem on a fixed domain. The solution to this problem is foundby using matched asymptotic expansions and the resulting shapeof the finger deduced (being, to leading order, a semi-infinitestrip). The nonlinear problem for the streamfunction is alsotreated using matched asymptotic expansion in the physical plane.The finger-width selection problem is briefly discussed in termsof our results.     

Electron spin resonance studies of 199HgH, 201HgH, 199HgD and 201HgD isolated in neon and argon matrices at 4K: an electronic structure investigation

Various isotopomers of the mercury hydride radical (HgH) have been generated in a microwave discharge and trapped in neon and argon matrices at 4 K for electron spin resonance (ESR) investigations. Both the dipolar (A_dip) and isotropic (A_iso) components of the nuclear hyperfine interactions have been directly measured for ¹⁹⁹Hg, ²⁰¹Hg, H and D. Electronic structure information for HgH in its X²Σ ground state obtained from the hyperfine data is compared with theoretical results from several different computational methods. The hyperfine interactions in HgH are unusually large with A_iso(¹⁹⁹Hg) = 6859(3), A_dip(¹⁹⁹Hg) = 446(3), A_iso(H) = 730(2) and A_dip(H) = 0(2) MHz. A standard analysis of the hyperfine interactions demonstrates the need for a more in-depth theoretical treatment of HgH that should include relativistic effects. An interesting shift in spin density is observed when deuterium replaces hydrogen in HgH. The decreased spin density on deuterium, which was demonstrated in earlier studies, can now be more fully investigated since these new measurements confirm an associated increase in spin density on mercury     

Improved models for the phase behaviour of hydrogen fluoride: chain and ring aggregates in the SAFT approach and the AEOS model

Hydrogen fluoride presents one of the strongest hydrogen bonds known. Ring aggregates exist both in the vapour and liquid phases at low temperatures resulting in an anomalously high low-temperature vapour pressure. The effect of ring-like aggregates on the vapour—liquid phase equilibria of associating fluids is studied within the framework of the statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT) and in the chemical model of Lencka and Anderko (AEOS). The SAFT approach incorporates separate contributions to describe chain formation, association (hydrogen bonding), and long range dispersion forces. The treatment of the association interactions stems from the thermodynamic perturbation theory of Wertheim. At the first level of approximation the contribution of ring-like aggregates is neglected and only chain- and treelike structures are treated. In this work an earlier extension of the approach to incorporate ring aggregates is used to model the phase behaviour of hydrogen fluoride. The chemical model of Lencka and Anderko for associating fluids is also considered together with a modification that takes into account the formation of ring aggregates. Vapour pressures and coexistence densities are examined together with heats of vapourization, and the calculations are compared with experimental data.     

Organic thin-film transistors of pentacene films fabricated from a supersonic molecular beam source

Top-contact organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) of pentacene have been fabricated on bare SiO₂ and SiO₂ modified with hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) and octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS). The pentacene films were deposited from a supersonic molecular beam source with kinetic energy of incident molecules ranging from 1.5 to 6.7 eV. The field-effect mobility of OTFTs was found to increase systematically with increasing kinetic energy of the molecular beam. The improvements are more important on HMDS- and OTS-treated surfaces than on bare SiO₂. Tapping mode atomic force microscopy images reveal that pentacene thin films deposited at high kinetic energy form with significantly larger grains—independent of surface treatment—than films deposited using low-energy beams.