CHAPTER 5

ROSIN-RAMMLER DISTRIBUTION AND

DEFINITION OF THE
COMPUTATIONAL DOMAIN

5.1. BACKGROUND

Exact analysis of radiative heating estimation from the exhaust plume of solid
rockets requires two parts, particle flow field analysis and radiation analysis. Both are very
complicated and require tremendous efforts, as shown by Girata Jr. and McGregor [1984],
and hence techniques to predict plume radiation analysis without flow field analysis have
been proposed from the macroscopic view point. In this study, the computational domain is
defined as three dimensional volume elements with exhaust plume with a computed
temperature and pressure profiles by the CFD code. Aluminium Oxide solid particles
present in the exhaust plume of Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) significantly influences the
radiosity of exhaust plume of solid motors. Further, particle spectrum details become an
input for predicting the specific impulse of SRM. Emission and scattering characteristics of
the exhaust plume are depending on the particle characteristics namely size, mass, velocity
and temperature, which are not adequately defined, in the published literature. There are
several mathematical functions describing particle size distributions. The most popular
among them is Rosin-Rammler distribution which uses a semi-empirical technique to
describe the particle distribution using only two parameters. The origin and application fields
of Rosin-Rammler distributions are well explained by Wilbur Brown and Kenneth Wohletz
[1995]. Edwards and Bobco [1982], Edwards and Babikian [1990] have used Rosin-
Rammler distributions in their analysis for plume radiosity as the model for particle
spectrum. Yasuhi Sakurai and Hiroshi Kimura [1986] reviewed the topic of plume radiation
from a solid rocket and considered uniform percentage (20%) of alumina for five different
particle sizes in the analysis.

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 This study makes use of particle spectrum with their respective mass portions in the
exhaust plume of SRM by taking Rosin-Rammler distribution as its basis. Thus the particle
spectrum data given by this study becomes the input for predicting the specific impulse of
SRM and generating more accurate scattering cross sections present in the Radiative
Transfer Equation (RTE).

5.2. INTRODUCTION

Propellants are the materials generating a large number of gaseous molecules at

high temperature during combustion and which can self-sustain without the presence of
ambient oxidizer combustion. A rocket motor is a typical example of an energy transfer
system, which can be directly explained by thermodynamics and Newton’s second law. A
pressurized high temperature gas generated in the system is expanded adiabatically, and
the sensible energy of the gas is converted to kinetic energy. Thus the system produces a
reaction force. Hence the thermodynamic requirement for a rocket motor is to get a high
pressure and high temperature gas in the motor, Kubota [1984]. Advanced solid propellant
formulations contain metals to enhance the thrust of Solid Rocket Motors and to reduce the
combustion instability. The use of aluminium in the solid propellants is a widely accepted
technique Aluminium and its oxide components increase the flame temperature and reduce
the combustion instability. It has long been recognized that combustion instabilities in solid
rocket motors can be alleviated by adding powdered metals to the fuel mix. Therefore there
is a considerable body of literature and data concerning metal oxide particle produced by
solid propellant rocket motors. Theoretical performance of these propellants is generally
superior to that of non-metallized formulations. However, the predicted increase of specific
impulse efficiency of metallic formulations is reduced by the presence of metallic oxide
particles due to the lack of inter phase thermal and momentum equilibrium between the
oxide particles and the gas phase and the increased heat losses to the rocket hardware
resulting from radiation by the particles. The properties of the Al2O3 particles namely, size,
density, temperature, physical state and velocity play an ever increasing role in motor
performance, nozzle design, base heat transfer and infrared signature. Thus from the
engineering considerations, it is desirable to have particle spectrum details in the rocket
exhaust to predict the actual performance of the rocket motor.

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 The Al2O3 particles produced by the solid rockets are not considered
hazardous in terms of their toxicity. However, they may play a role in
weather modification by seeding clouds, especially when they remain
airborne for extended time periods. There are three mechanisms by which
these particles can be removed from the atmosphere:

(1) Natural settlement on the ground due to gravitational force

(2) They can be washed out of the air by an overriding rainfall
(3) They become the nuclei of raindrops by condensation.
The effectiveness of each of these mechanisms is a strong function of the particle
size and hence particle spectrum needs to be explored. Aluminium oxide is produced as an
equilibrium condensed phase product of the combustion of solid propellants loaded with a
substantial fraction (10-20% by weight) of metallic powdered aluminium. As the liquid
particles pass through the nozzle into the plume, the gas temperature drops rapidly when
compared to that of particles, with the temperature lag depending on the particle size. The
particles also will solidify at a size dependent rate. The mass fraction of alumina in the
plume is predicted by standard rocket performance codes like NASA SP273 as referred by
Frederick Simmons [2000]. According to Dawbarn, Kinslow and Watson [1980], the Al2O3
particles collected and examined during various tests show that the dust particles ranging
from 0.01 to 0.1 µ are irregularly shaped and in many cases have agglomerated into
clusters. Further particles of size ranging from 1 to 4.5µ are approximately spherical shapes
because of surface tension and vapor pressure of the exhaust plume. The bigger particles
concentrate to the central axis of the plume while the smaller particles are accelerated more
rapidly in the radial direction by pressure gradients in the expanding plume. Radiosity of
plume largely depends on absorption, emission and scattering of radiant energy and the
Al2O3 particles contribute to these phenomena. Scattering efficiency of the particle cloud
depends on the wavelength of incident radiant energy and size of particle and hence the
modeling of scattering of radiant energy requires particle spectrum details of each control
volume defined in the computational domain of exhaust plume.
Studies on plume radiosity conducted by Morizumi and Carpenter [1964]
considered uniform mass fractions for each category of particles. However, the spatial
distribution of the solid particles in the plume volume is not uniform and Edwards and Bobco

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[1982] studied the effect of varying particle size distribution on plume radiosity by making
use of Bobco’s [1966] engineering model. This model basically makes use of an effective
emissivity of the particle cloud and an inverse power law for the plume radiosity. Later, the
temperature profile of the exhaust plume computed by CFD code clearly indicates that the
temperature is not steadily decreasing from the nozzle exit plane, but in between it is
increasing due to the series of shocks getting developed in the plume. Thus more realistic
plume radiosity is to be arrived at and which can be done only through the predicted
temperature profile by CFD.
Most studies of the size distribution points towards a bimodal size distribution for
the alumina in the exhaust plume of solid rockets. According to Brewaster [1989] a
monomodal representation of particle spectrum would be adequate if one mode dominates
the optical properties. This study makes use of the proportions of mass of each category of
particles as given by the Rosin-Rammler distributions. Then these mass fractions are
mapped into volumes of particles of different sizes predicted by their limiting trajectories
using CFD analysis. Modeling details of these two sections are addressed in this chapter.

5.3. THE ROSIN-RAMMLER DISTRIBUTION

The Rosin-Rammler distribution predicts the mass fraction w of particles having

size greater than the diameter D as

D Nr
−( )
D0
w=e (5.1)
where the exponent Nr affects the spread of the distribution and D0 is a parameter affecting
the mean particle size of distribution. Thus this is a bimodal cumulative frequency
distribution. Figure 5.1 shows both the frequency and cumulative frequency of mass of
particles with parameters Do=1.0µ and Nr=1.5
The major parameters influencing the particle size are chamber pressure, throat
diameter and resident time inside the chamber and these are changing from motor to motor.
The particle distribution in each case can be obtained by fine tuning the bimodal parameters
D0 and Nr in the Rosin-Rammler distribution. The sensitivity of the two parameters D0 and Nr
in the Rosin-Rammler distribution is shown in Figures 5.2 and 5.3. Figure 5.2, shows that

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higher value of Nr give a tight spread for the distribution. The average particle size increases
as D0 increases. Figure 5.3 shows that the average particle size increases as D0 increases

1.0

0.8

Cumulative fraction
Fraction : Case Nr = 5 , D0 = 2 µm
Fraction

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0

Particle diameter, µm

Figure 5.1: Rosin-Rammler distribution for the parameters

D0=2 µm and Nr =5

1.0

Cumulative fraction : D0 = 2 µm ,Nr=5

Cumulative fraction : D0 = 3 µm, Nr = 5
0.8 Fraction : Case D0 = 2 µm , Nr = 5
Fraction : Case D0 = 3 µm , Nr = 5
Fraction

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0

Particle diameter, µm
Figure 5.2 Rosin-Rammler distribution for the parameters

D0=2,3 µm and Nr =5

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 D0=2 µm
1.0

0.8 Nr =5
Nr = 4
Nr = 3
Nr = 2
Fraction 0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0

Particle diameter, µm

Fig.5.3 Comparison of particle distribution for constant mean particle

size

Nr=3
1.0

D0 = 2 µm
0.8 D0 = 3 µm
D0 = 4 µm
D0 = 5 µm
Fractions

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 8.0 8.5 9.0 9.5 10.0

Particle diameter, µm

Fig.5.4 Comparison of particle distribution for different

Do and for constant Nr

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5.4. CHARACTERISTICS OF SRM PLUME

The mathematical model for thermal radiation should describe radiation from Al2O3
particles contained in the gaseous products of combustion as well as emission from the
principal emitting gases, namely CO.CO2, H20 and HCl. Particles are accelerated in the
nozzle plume flow field due to the velocity gradients produced by pressure gradients exerted
on them by the gaseous flow. As the vehicle reaches higher altitudes, the atmospheric
pressure gets reduced much below the nozzle exit pressure and hence the plume becomes
under- expanded. At this stage, shape of the plume can be approximated as a truncated
cone emanating from the nozzle exit plane with a certain semi vertical angle, which
corresponds to the expansion angle of the plume. Consistent flight data of base heating
due to the exhaust plume of solid rockets show that irrespective of the altitude in the ascend
flight of a launch vehicle, the radiative component is almost constant till the regime where
the chamber pressure drastically reduces to almost 50 %. This indicates that the component
of radiation due to the gaseous particles is negligibly small and the change of shape of
gaseous boundary is insignificant for the base heating due to radiation. Further, a recent
analysis carried out by Jeya Bharata Reddy [2008] of particle trajectories shows the
following features which are derived from figs. 5.5 to 5.13;

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 (1) Smaller particles are uniformly spread out in the plume as shown in Figures 5.5
& 5.6.
(2) The bigger particles, say above 4.5µ, are confined to the region of central core
as seen in Fig.5.13.
(3) The limiting trajectories of bigger particles are almost conical and each of their
domains contains particles smaller than them.

5.5. COMPUTATIONAL DOMAIN

The domain of computation for the Radiative Transfer Equation comprises of

volumetric cells representing the above discussed characteristics. The Rosin-Rammler
distribution gives the fraction of solid particles above a certain diameter. Since the

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computational domain is volume, a mapping of mass of solid particles to volume is required
to model Rosin-Rammler distribution in the exhaust plume. Here in this study, the envelopes
of trajectories of particles of different particle sizes generated by CFD studies [Jeya Bharata
Reddy, 2008] are utilized for the mapping.
A two phase finite volume Navier-Stokes solver using an Euler-Lagrangean method
is employed to trace the particle trajectory. Here, the Eulerian method is applied for the gas
species while Lagrangean method is applied on particles. A one way coupling is
incorporated in the model where the gas temperature influences the particle temperature.
Two way coupling is not taken into account. From various radial locations at the inlet region
of the nozzle, Al2O3 particle of various sizes ranging from 0.5 to 10 µm is released (one type
of particle at a time) and its path is traced using a Lagrangean method.
The equation of particle trajectories of different particle sizes is generated using the
WINDIG software. Appendix 5.B provides the equations of particle plume boundary of
different particle sizes in the form y=f(x) where x is the axial length of trajectory from the
nozzle exit plane of the motor.
6
R=4.0 µ
R-3.5 µ
R=3.0 µ
Radius of the Envelop,m

R=2.5 µ
R=2.0 µ
R=1.5 µ
4 R=1.0 µ
R=0.5 µ
R=0.1 µ

0
0 2.5 5.0 7.5

Length of Plume Beyond the Exit Plane, m

Fig.5.14 Envelops of particle boundaries of different sizes

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 The volume of integration of the curve y=f(x) when rotated along the X-axis
between the limits
h
V = ∫ ∏ y 2dx
0 ≤ x ≤ h is 0 (5.2)
In general, a plume length of 6 to 7 nozzle exit diameters is found to be appropriate
for the convergence of radiative flux. In eq (5.2), the lower limit zero is assigned to the
station of the nozzle exit plane. The upper limit of the above integration, h, should be
assigned a value as length of plume from the nozzle exit plane satisfying the convergence
criterion. Figure 5.15 provides the values of partial volumes of particles of different radius as
a function of total volume. This data is generated for a solid motor with a nozzle exit
diameter of 3140 mm. It can be seen that the volume of particles with radius less than
0.5µm radius is exponentially increasing. In the case of modeling the plume radiosity using
Monte Carlo Techniques, one has to minimize the computational domain for a reasonably
faster solution. Hence the inclusion of tiny particles gives rise to large computational
domain, which in turn leads to very large computational time. However, exclusion of very
small particles in the analysis can be justified since they are less significant contributors to
the radiosity due to their lower temperature and emissivity.
300
Meu
275
0.1
250 0.5
1.0
225
1.5

200 2.0
VOLUME OF PLUME

2.5
175
3.0

150 3.5
4.0
125
4.5

100

75

50

25

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5
AXIAL DISTANCE

Fig.5.15: Partial Volumes of different particles as a function of axial

distance.

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 To enable the computation of the parameter h, the analytical expressions of the

integrand ∫
2
y dx
applicable to different particle sizes up to 4.5µm is given in Appendix-5.C.

5.6. GEOMETRY OF COMPUTATIONAL DOMAIN

The computational domain of plume can be approximated in the axi-symmetric flow

field as concentric, as suggested by Watsomn and Lee [1976]. These conical surfaces are
emanating from a common vertex which is bounded along the axial coordinate by planes at
right angles to the conical surface axes. The boundary of particle trajectories of each type of
solid particles is considered as a cone with certain expansion angle. Geometrical details of
a typical conical surface containing ,say, ith category of particles is shown in Fig.5.16.

a dΦi

Nozzle
Exit Plane

Fig.5.16: Sub volume Vi and its geometric parameters

Using eqn.(5.2) the partial volume of the ith type of particle is estimated as
h
Vi = ∫ ∏ y 2 i ( x) dx
0 (5.3)
Integrating the RTE over the computational domain, one can estimate the radiosity
of the plume. For integrating the domain, the following three geometrical parameters are
needed for grid generation in the computational domain for a given Vi as predicted by
eq.(5.3) :
(1) the expansion angle of each category of particles, which is the semi vertical
angle of conical section confined to that category of particles, say dΦi ,as
shown in Fig.5.16
(2) radius of the conical shell at the nozzle exit plane, r1i, and
(3) radius of the conical at axial height of h, r2i. For a given volume of Vi the
expansion angle can be derived as

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 3Vi
tan dϕ i =
π [(a + h) 3 − a 3 ]
(5.4)
Then the radii r1i and r2i are given by
r 1i = a tan dϕ i
(5.5)
r 2i = (a + h) tan dϕ i
(5.6)
Here ‘a’ is motor specific and hence can be used as an input.

3
Radius at Axial Height h
Radius at the Nozzle Exit Plane

2
Radii,m

0
20 40 60 80 100

3
Computational Volume,m

Figure 5.17 Variations of Radii in Plume Geometry with Volume

Figure 5.17 shows the loci of r1i and r2i as a function of partial volume, Vi. This figure
reveals that the dimensional increase of the two radii at the top and bottom of the
computational domain of a plume is almost linear even when the volume is enhanced up to
five times. The loci of the radii are given below:
Equation of radius at the axial height, h, as a function of volume, Vi, is

r2 (Vi ) = −8.04 E − 05Vi 2 + 0.0267Vi + 0.626 (5.7)

And the equation of radius at the nozzle exit plane is

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 r1 (Vi ) = −3.21E − 05Vi 2 + 0.0108Vi + 0.262 (5.8)

5.7. PARTICLE DENSITY

Modeling of scattering of thermal radiant energy emanating from each solid particle
in the exhaust plume requires its position in the plume. However, such a task being
extremely complex and time consuming, one takes into account of solid particles contained
in a control volume and hence requires an estimate of particle density in each control
volume. The scattering cross section of each control volume thus depends on its particle
density.
A reasonable estimate of the number of particles in each sub volume, Vi, can be
made using the following equation.
m
Ni = ∑ ρ iVi (5.9)
i =1

Where m is the number of different category of particles and ρi is the particle

number density of ith particle size present in the volume cell Vi. The particle number density
ρi in each cell can be estimated using the volume of ith cell and the mass flow rate of plume.
By making use of isentropic relations the mass flow rate of exhaust can be estimated as
follows.
 γ 
 
 2   γ −1  γ + 1 P0 γ
w.p = A  (5.10)
γ +1 2 T0 R

Volume of exhaust plume, Vp, exiting through the nozzle exit plane per second is
VL*A .where VL is exit velocity of plume and A is the nozzle exit area. Hence, numerically,
W .p
the mass of plume in Vp, is W.p Therefore, mass per unit volume of plume is and
VL * A
this scaling ratio can be applied to estimate the mass of plume for any given volume. Total
mass of particles in any volume, V, is therefore
w. p
mp = V * * wf (5.11)
VL * A

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where Wf is the fraction of mass of solid particles for a given loading ratio of aluminium in
the solid propellant. Now, the mass fractions of each category of particles in the volume, V,
can be related to Rosin-Rammler distribution as
m
m p = ∑ mi (5.12)
i =1

 −
Dk
−
DL
 w. p 
where mi = e D0
−e D0
 V * * wf  (5.13)
   VL * A 

Here the average value of suffices K and L appearing in this equation is taken as
the diameter of the ith category of particles. Thus the particle number density of ith particle
size is obtained by dividing eq. (5.13) with Vi as given by eq. (5.3).

5.8. CASE STUDY

As a typical case of Rosin-Rammler distribution, the cumulative frequency curve

shown in fig.5.1 is used for generating the sub-volumes. This set of data is called as
“Primitive Cumulative Distribution” since 100 percent of solid particles are not accounted as
shown in Table-5.A.1 of Appendix-5.A. The frequency table is further processed for the
preparation of input, as shown in Table-5.A.2 of Appendix-5.A. From these data, ten
different classes are formed based on particle size. The different classes along with their
volumes, expansion angles and the radii at the nozzle exit plane and the axial height h are
given in Tables 5.D.1, 5.D.2 and 5.D.3 of Appendix 5.D.

5.9. RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS

The method of implementation of Rosin-Rammler distribution in an SRM plume is
explained and the geometric parameters of different particle sizes are derived. The three
geometric parameters, defining the limiting particle trajectories of each category of particles,
namely, the differential radii at the nozzle exit plane and at an axial height of ‘h’ along the
plume axis and its differential expansion angle are derived. For a typical input parameter
combination of h=9.713m & a=6.709m, these geometric parameters are presented for
different volumes of plume namely, 20m3, 40m3 and 60m3 in Tables 5.D.1, 5.D.2 and 5.D.3
of Appendix-5.D.

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5.10. CONCLUSIONS

Rosin-Rammler distribution in the exhaust plume of SRM is modeled. The mass

fraction of solid particles given by the Rosin-Rammler distribution is mapped into volumes
using the CFD results of particle trajectories. The envelop of different sizes of particles are
approximated as frustum of cones based on the polynomial equations of limiting trajectories
of particles of different sizes. The particle density in any control volume is defined for
evaluating the scattering efficiency of solid particles. The geometrical parameters of the
resulting frustum of cones is derived and applied for a tested solid motor. The resulting
geometrical parameters of different particle sizes are presented for three cases as a
function of volume of the computational domain.

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