[AR] AN vs. AP (was Re: Beirut blast...)
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2020 14:26:52 -0400 (EDT)
On Thu, 6 Aug 2020, Terry McCreary wrote:
In the amounts, particle sizes, and motor sizes generally used by
amateurs, any shock sensitivity that may be exhibited by AP is
immaterial. The Challenger accident shows the SRBs continuing to
burn---not explode---following the initial explosion.
Careful -- that was more a flash fire than an explosion. Challenger's ET
disintegrated and its contents spilled and burned, but there was little or
no shock involved. The orbiter wasn't blown apart by an explosion; it
came apart because being thrown out of control at Mach 3 caused
aerodynamic loads far beyond its structural strength.
A more relevant fact from that accident was all the big chunks of solid
fuel falling out of the sky -- burning but undetonated -- after Range
Safety fired the SRB destruct charges a moment later. (And likewise in
several Titan III/IV failures, including at least one SRB cato.)
Henry
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