Yoel Bergman
The New 1942 Method for Propellant Design and Later Updates
ICON: Journal of the International Committee for the History of Technology 28, no. 2 (2023): 128–135.
Research Brief
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11590/icon.2023.2.07
Abstract
This research brief examines the history of an innovative method developed in 1942 for the design of solid propellants. Led by the American scientist Joseph Hirschfelder, the method offered a simplified way to estimate gas temperature and other important properties produced during propellant combustion, replacing much more demanding theoretical calculations with basic arithmetic while achieving comparable results.
The method was subsequently refined to improve its accuracy and was adapted for use in the design of solid rocket propellants. The article places this development within the wartime mobilisation of scientific expertise and traces the subsequent evolution and application of the approach.