US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Christina L Brantley

Paul B Ruffin

Fang Luo

Eugene Edwards

The present disclosure relates to a gas sensor, including: a gas collecting chamber including: (a) a nanoporous wall including alumina, on a portion of the gas collecting chamber in the near vicinity of the solid propellant fuel; a micro pump attached to the gas collecting chamber; and a gas analysis device connected to the gas collecting chamber. The gas analysis device measures both type and concentration of gases collected in the gas collecting chamber via the nanoporous wall, the gases measured being selected from the group consisting of CO, CO, NO, NO, NOand combinations thereof. The present disclosure also relates to a method of sensing propellant degradation in solid fuel and a method of using a gas collecting chamber to sense such degradation.

Apparatus and methods for detecting propellant degradation in solid propellant fuel

A spectrometric system, including: a solid rocket fuel; an illuminating source including at least two wavelengths within a spectral range from 100 nm to 200,000 nm, a first wavelength or range of wavelengths having a distinguishably greater or lesser absorbance for the stabilizer than for components of the propellant, and a second wavelength or range of wavelengths having an absorbance for the stabilizer not distinguishably different than the absorbance for the components of the propellant, an illuminating fiber to illuminate a surface of a solid rocket fuel; a collecting fiber to collect back scattered, reflected or transmitted light being given off from the surface of the solid rocket fuel; and a spectrometer to determine the light intensities of the two wavelengths of the back scattered, reflected or transmitted light collected.

Growing community of inventors

Huntsville, AL, United States of America

Christina L Brantley