A Statistical Framework for Analysis of Chamber Pressure Spikes in Solid Rocket Motors

Solid rocket motors (SRM) are one of the most reliable and powerful engines for rocket propulsion, their simplicity and ability to generate high thrust makes them an ideal candidate for boosters in launch vehicles like Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). The thrust-time profile of the SRMs are carefully designed to meet the mission demands by choosing the right casting geometry and configuration of the solid propellants. It is however noticed that in many of the launches, spikes or ’blips’ occur in the chamber pressure of the SRM which has a significant impact on the vehicle oscillatory disturbance acceleration components. This paper proposes a statistical framework to study the historical launch data available to identify, isolate and study these spikes and quantify their impact on these affected acceleration components. For root cause analysis, aging of propellants and difference in burn rates of segments in the SRM are also taken into consideration.