ADVANCED REINFORCED GRAIN DESIGN

• US 3,822,645 A
• Filed: 11/23/1962
• Issued: 07/09/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/1962
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Earl L. Alexander
• Original Assignee: Earl L. Alexander
• Inventors: Alexander, Earl L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Stahl, Robert F.
• Application Number:
  US04/240,205
• Time in Patent Office: 4,246 Days
• Field of Search: 102/98,98M,103 60/35.6RS 86/1,20
• US Class Current: 102/289
• CPC Class Codes: F02K 9/18 of the internal-burning type having a star or like shaped internal cavity

Abstract

1. A propellant grain comprising: A SOLID CYLINDRICAL DECOMPOSABLE POLYMERIC MATRIX, A REINFORCING METAL LATTICE COMPRISING AN INITIALLY CONTINUOUS AND CIRCUMFERENTIALLY ALIGNED METAL FILAMENT IMBEDDED ENTIRELY THROUGHOUT SAID MATRIX, COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE CONTINUOUS METAL FILAMENT ELEMENT PRIMARILY TRAVERSING A DIRECTION WHICH IS NOT PARALLEL TO ANY PLANE OF SYMMETRY IN SAID MATRIX, SAID MATRIX AND SAID LATTICE FORMING AN ELONGATED GENERALLY CYLINDRICALLY-SHAPED PROPELLANT GRAIN HAVING AN INNER CAVITY, A PLURALITY OF RECESSES PROVIDED WITHIN SAID GRAIN, SAID RECESSES COMMUNICATING WITH SAID INNER RECESS AND INTERSECTING A PORTION OF SAID INITIALLY CONTINUOUS AND CIRCUMFERENTIALLY ALIGNED FILAMENTS.

Claims

2. The propellant grain of claim 1 wherein said recesses communicating with said inner cavity comprise a plurality of longitudinal radially-extending slots.

3. A solid propellant rocket motor comprising:

a solid cylindrical decomposable polymeric matrix, a reinforcing metal filament lattice comprised of continuous filaments supported circumferentially entirely throughout said matrix, comprising at least one continuous metal filament element primarily traversing a direction which is not parallel to any plane of symmetry in said matrix, said matrix and said lattice forming an elongated cylindrically-shaped propellant grain having an inner cavity, said filament lattice being more closely spaced within said matrix at the outer circumference of said grain so as to increase the percent of filament lattice in the area of the outer circumference, and a plurality of recesses provided within said grain, said recesses communicating with said inner cavity and intersecting said filaments.

4. The method of forming a regressive solid propellant grain comprising:

forming a solid decomposable polymeric matrix, disposing a reinforcing metal filament lattice comprised of continuous filaments circumferentially throughout said matrix, said lattice comprising at least one continuous metal filament element primarily traversing a direction which is not parallel to any plane of symmetry in said matrix, and forming a plurality of recesses within said grain, said recesses intersecting said filaments to expose ends thereof.