By definition, energetic materials can deliver a huge amount of gas and cause different kinds of phenomena, such as: burning, deflagration or detonation. These materials are mainly used in the automotive industry (airbag deployment), military devices (missiles, ammunition) and space launchers (Ariane 5 boosters and pyrotechnic devices). The manufacturing process, although well controlled by the historical "batch" process, presents several challenges when it is transferred to the continuous mixing process, using a twin-screw mixer device. Indeed, this last device induces extreme evolutions of pressure gradients and shearing gradients (reduced air-gap.). Plus, the energetic material is composed of fluid components and different diameters of solid components that can ignite by shearing. Consequently, tribological conditions leading to the ignition of an energetic material, a solid propellant, are studied during its manufacturing in a twin-screw mixer. Unfortunately, because of the industrial confidentiality on solid propellants, the bibliography on the solid propellants tribology is limited. However it appears that too few studies have effectively dealt with the tribological behaviour of this third body. By nature, this last is a composite material; therefore it is necessary to understand internal flows that evolve from tribological stresses. Thus, a coupled approach experimental and numerical is chosen in order to reproduce the mechanical elementary stresses applied by the two first bodies (top of screw thread and bore of the barrel element), and undergone by the third body during its manufacturing in a twin-screw mixer (compression and shearing). This approach consists of the instrumentation of a security test that shears the solid propellant and a discrete element simulation of the tribological triplet (inferior and superior first bodies, and the third body). The distinctive tribological behaviour of this third body appears obvious: different types of component segregations lead to a three superposed layer ...
By definition, energetic materials can deliver a huge amount of gas and cause different kinds of phenomena, such as: burning, deflagration or detonation. These materials are mainly used in the automotive industry (airbag deployment), military devices (missiles, ammunition) and space launchers (Ariane 5 boosters and pyrotechnic devices). The manufacturing process, although well controlled by the historical "batch" process, presents several challenges when it is transferred to the continuous mixing process, using a twin-screw mixer device. Indeed, this last device induces extreme evolutions of pressure gradients and shearing gradients (reduced air-gap.). Plus, the energetic material is composed of fluid components and different diameters of solid components that can ignite by shearing. Consequently, tribological conditions leading to the ignition of an energetic material, a solid propellant, are studied during its manufacturing in a twin-screw mixer. Unfortunately, because of the industrial confidentiality on solid propellants, the bibliography on the solid propellants tribology is limited. However it appears that too few studies have effectively dealt with the tribological behaviour of this third body. By nature, this last is a composite material; therefore it is necessary to understand internal flows that evolve from tribological stresses. Thus, a coupled approach experimental and numerical is chosen in order to reproduce the mechanical elementary stresses applied by the two first bodies (top of screw thread and bore of the barrel element), and undergone by the third body during its manufacturing in a twin-screw mixer (compression and shearing). This approach consists of the instrumentation of a security test that shears the solid propellant and a discrete element simulation of the tribological triplet (inferior and superior first bodies, and the third body). The distinctive tribological behaviour of this third body appears obvious: different types of component segregations lead to a three superposed layer arrangement of the solid propellant thickness. These segregations come from the creation of internal component flows, specific to the nature and the geometry of the third body components. These flows select the components that remain within the contact area and also establish the tribological conditions that favour the third body ignition (gradient of mobility between solid components, draining of the third body thickness, localization of the efforts applied to the third body…). Ultimately, this study rebuilds the ignition tribological circuit(s) of a solid propellant and offers technical solutions to prevent the materialisation of unfavourable conditions to a safe solid propellant manufacturing in a twin-screw mixer. ; Les matériaux énergétiques sont, par définition, des matériaux susceptibles de dégager un volume important de gaz, en se décomposant via les phénomènes suivants : combustion, déflagration ou détonation. Ils sont notamment utilisés dans les secteurs industriels de l'automobile (déploiement d'airbag), du militaire (propulsion de missiles tactiques et stratégiques, munitions) et du spatial (boosters de lanceurs spatiaux type Ariane 5). La maîtrise de leur fabrication nécessite que soient vérifiées certaines contraintes spécifiques rencontrées lors de leur mise en œuvre dans un malaxeur bivis. En effet, ce procédé de malaxage en continu induit de fortes évolutions de gradients de pression et de cisaillement au sein du matériau énergétique (entrefers réduits.) qui peuvent initier les constituants fluides et solides. Par conséquent, dans un souci de parfaite maîtrise des risques industriels, les conditions tribologiques menant à l'initiation d'un matériau énergétique, ici le propergol, lors de sa fabrication, doivent être étudiées. Malheureusement, à cause de la confidentialité industrielle liée à ce secteur d'activité, la bibliographie de la tribologie des propergols est limitée. Il apparait toutefois que peu d'études portent effectivement sur le comportement tribologique du troisième corps, c'est à dire le propergol. Ce dernier étant hétérogène (mélange de constituants fluides et de solides), il est donc nécessaire d'appréhender les écoulements internes qui l'animent sous sollicitations tribologiques. Ainsi, pour reproduire les sollicitations mécaniques élémentaires (compression et cisaillement) appliquées par les deux premiers corps que sont les vis et le fourreau, et subies par le troisième corps lors du malaxage, il a été choisi d'utiliser une approche couplée expérimentale et numérique. Cette dernière s'organise autour de l'instrumentation d'un dispositif de sécurité permettant la sollicitation par frottement du propergol et de la modélisation par éléments discrets du triplet tribologique (parois supérieure et inférieure des premiers corps, et troisième corps). Il est ainsi apparu un comportement tribologique caractéristique du troisième corps : des ségrégations entre les constituants mènent à un arrangement selon trois couches superposées dans l'épaisseur du troisième corps. Ces ségrégations sont issues de la mise en place de débits internes, spécifiques à chaque nature et géométrie de constituants. Ces débits sélectionnent les constituants présents dans l'aire de contact et favorisent l'existence de conditions tribologiques favorables à l'initiation du troisième corps (assèchement de l'épaisseur, localisation des efforts appliqués au troisième corps .). L'ensemble de ces débits permet de reconstituer un circuit tribologique d'initiation d'un propergol et ainsi d'envisager des solutions techniques permettant d'endiguer la mise en place des conditions défavorables à la fabrication en sécurité d'un propergol dans un malaxeur bivis.
