The objective of this work was to characterize mechanical properties of composite solid propellant in order to conduct the structural integrity assessment of propellant grain. Data required for analyses regarding loads experienced during rocket motor transportation and flight were obtained. Based on time and temperature superposition, master curves were constructed from propellant mechanical properties determined by dynamic mechanical analysis. These curves can be used as input in finite elements analysis software, demonstrating the applicability of the proposed methodology.

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Most solid rocket motors (SRM) make use of polymeric composites as ablative thermal protection system (TPS). One of the main advantages of this type of cooling is its simplicity and cost; however, the mechanism of erosion on the composite surface is very complex and tricky to model. In the present work, an ablation model was developed considering the reaction of H2O and CO2 molecules, present in the combustion gases, with the ablative material. This approach is valuable for a preliminary assessment of the behaviour of ablative layers. The investigation was based on a particular case of a SRM ablative nozzle since it is a critical setup for this type of thermal protection system. The bisection method was used for 02 particular propellant formulations in order to predict the mass consumption rate of the ablative material in function of the nozzle diameter and the mass fraction of aluminium.

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