An approach formulated in terms of conserved variables for the characterisation of propellant combustion in internal ballistics

Summary A model formulated in terms of conserved variables is proposed for its use in the study of internal ballistic problems of pyrotechnical mixtures and propellants. It is a transient two-phase flow model adapted from the non-conservative Gough model. This conversion is mathematically attractive because of the wide range of numerical methods for this kind of systems that may be applied. We propose the use of the AUSM+, AUSM + up and Rusanov schemes as an efficient alternative for this type of two-phase problem. A splitting technique is applied, which solves the system of equations in several steps. A second-order approach based on Monotonic Upstream-Centred Scheme for Conservation Laws (MUSCL) is also used. Some tests are used to validate the code, namely a shock wave test, a contact discontinuity problem and an internal ballistics problem. In this last case, one-dimensional numerical results are compared with experimental data of 155-mm gunshots. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.