Propulsion from the Pulse Detonation of Solid Propellant Pellet-Projectiles

Conventional solid propulsion is one of the oldest methods of propulsion that make use of deflagration phenomena rather than detonation to generate combustion gases. Proposed is a technology that makes use of detonation phenomena of solid propellents. This technology substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs, and in doing so provides a system primarily developed for the purpose of providing a propulsion method that would have the advantages of both solid and liquid propulsion systems. The primary concept is that solid propellent pellets having a specific shape-profile is ejected in the form of projectiles having a certain velocity, interacts with a medium for initiation and the detonation of the solid propellent pellets takes place in flight. The velocity, the shape profile of the propellant pellets and the detonation process determines forward direction of the combustion gases evolved. The proposed technology has a specific application in space vehicle / space craft propulsion, and in military such as cruise missiles. Furthermore, variants of the proposed concept can be employed as in the case of detonation driven ramjets (dramjets) and detonation initiators for pulse detonation engines (PDEs).