ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the considering a particular chamber instability for which a substantial literature exists, acoustic instability of solid-propellant rockets. It explores chamber instabilities and system instabilities of liquid-propellant rocket engines, another subject that has received extensive analysis. The chapter discusses the system instabilities in other combustion devices. It addresses intrinsic instabilities of premixed flames, a fundamental topic of central relevance to both laminar and turbulent flame propagation. The chapter describes the diffusion flames appear to exhibit less intrinsic instability than premixed flames, although under appropriate experimental conditions their effects can be observed. Instabilities that result from sound-wave amplification are called acoustic instabilities. Extensive reviews of acoustic instabilities in solid-propellant rockets have been published. The chapter introduces the inherent oscillations that have been addressed in fact correspond to a limiting case of the diffusive-thermal intrinsic instabilities of flames.
