PERFORMANCE OF RADIATION SOURCES OF DIFFERENT ENERGIES IN THE QUALIFICATION OF SOLID PROPELLANT ROCKET COMPONENTS
B. Munirathinam, P. V. S. Kurmanath, K. Venkata Rao, K. Viswanathan and M. C. Uttam SHAR Centre, ISRO, Sriharikota, India
Keywords: Solid rocket motor; high energy source; CO-60 source; low energy x-ray machine contrast; resolution
ABSTRACT
Radiography using X-rays and gamma rays is the major non- destructive technique employed in the qualification of solid propellant rocket components ranging from small pyrogenic Igniters, to giant rocket motors of 2800 mm dia. Diverse materials such as steel, variety of fibre reinforced composite materials, solid propellant of different compositions, rocasin, etc. are being used in the construction of the above components. As the thickness and density of materials cover a wide range, the inspection therefore requires the use of radiation sources of different energies. Conventional X-ray generators such as 200 kV, 400 kV, Cobalt-60 1000 Curie gamma source, 9 MeV and 15 MeV high energy linear accelerators are being used in SHAR for the above purpose. As the reliability and the performance of the components are affected by various kinds of grain and interfacial discontinuities, a number of radiographic techniques and procedures have been developed and optimised for the detection and effective evaluation of same. In doing so, the performance of the each radiation source has been studied in detail in terms of penetration, contrast sensitivity, latitude, unsharpness, exposure etc. This paper presents the results and the conclusions of the above studies.
Publication Source: Trends in NDE Science & Technology; Proceedings of the 14th World Conference on Non-Destructive Testing, New Delhi, 8-13 December 1996.Vol. 2, pages 509 - 512 Publisher:Ashgate Publishing Company
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