CSULB to use groundbreaking technology to improve solid rocket oxidizers
One of the largest research grants in CSULB College of Engineering history launched Sept. 30, with $2 million committed to study the microstructure of rocket fuels.
Funded by the US Army and led by Dr. Joe Kalman, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor, the project is titled “Propellant Burning Rate Control Through Crystalline Oxidizer Microstructure.”
Through groundbreaking 3D printing technique, known as combinatorial printing, researchers will be able to better understand and control the microscopic structure and composition of the chemicals used in rocket propellant.
“This [technique] allows us to create a library of compositions,” said Dr. Mortaza Saeidi, Co-PI and MAE Assistant Professor. “You add sugar to coffee, and it might be sweet enough... you want to have the right ratio every time.”
While first applied to the mixture of ingredients in solid rocket propellants, this approach has a wide range of potential applications enabling rapid development of new materials designed to achieve precise operating conditions.
CSULB graduate and undergraduate students will be involved in hands-on research, one of the largest funded projects since being designated R2. Kalman also recently received the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award using a similar approach to solve societal problems related to energy conversion.
“Research is an emerging strength of the college, and grants such as this one are a testament to the competitiveness of our faculty on a national level,” said Dean Jinny Rhee. “It will ultimately bring opportunities for our students to participate in ground-breaking science, in line with our priorities of social mobility and the development of the workforce needed to sustain an economy based on innovation.”
Contributing research will also come from the Department of Material Science and Engineering and the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Riverside, providing our students access and exposure to a local R1 school.
