Experimental and Numerical Simulation of the Effect of Vibration Excitation on the Leveling Properties of Hydroxy-Terminated Polybutadiene Propellant Slurry

In order to study the effect of vibration excitation on the leveling properties of hydroxy- terminated polybutadiene(HTPB) propellant slurry, the natural leveling and vibration leveling experiments of HTPB propellant slurry were carried out by visual experimental device, and the experimental results were quantitatively analyzed. The rheological properties of HTPB propellant slurry were tested by rotary rheometer, and the slurry leveling process was numerically simulated by Carreau viscosity model with the test results as input. The results show that the vibration excitation can effectively shorten the leveling time of the slurry; the HTPB propellant slurry is a yield pseudoplastic fluid. In a certain range of shear rate, the viscosity decreases with the increase of shear rate. The vibration excitation can maintain the shear rate at a high level during the leveling process of the slurry, so that the viscosity of the slurry in the vibration leveling experiment is relatively low, and the fluidity of the slurry is obviously improved. Compared with the natural leveling time, the leveling time of the slurry is shortened by 51% under the vibration excitation. The error between numerical simulation and experimental results of HTPB propellant slurry leveling process is within 10%, which verifies the feasibility of Carreau viscosity model to solve the slurry leveling process. © 2023 Chengdu University of Science and Technology. All rights reserved.