Apparatus and Methods for Detecting Propellant Degradation in Solid Propellant Fuel

A method of using a gas collecting chamber to sense propellant degradation in solid propellant fuel, comprising the steps of:

• collecting gas in a near vicinity of the solid propellant fuel into the gas collecting chamber, the gas passing through a nanoporous wall including alumina on a portion of the gas collecting chamber, the nanoporous wall being positioned near the solid propellant fuel, and the collecting of gas being accomplished by a) reducing internal pressure of the gas collecting chamber via a micro pump for sucking ambient air out of the gas collecting chamber thereby forcibly bringing gas out of the gas collecting chamber through the pores in the nanoporous wall and also for blowing inert gas selected from the group consisting of argon, helium, neon, krypton, xenon, radon, sulfur hexafluoride, nitrogen and combinations thereof into the gas collecting chamber and out through the nanoporous wall thereby to rid the nanoporous wall of accumulated particles, and by b) channeling the gas sucked by the micro pump from the solid propellant fuel to the gas analysis device via a baffle, the baffle being located in the gas collecting chamber near an area of the gas collecting chamber where the pump is connected;
• and
• measuring concentrations of gases collected within the gas collecting chamber via gas sensing methods selected from the group consisting of an ultraviolet absorption spectrum measuring method, a visible absorption spectrum measuring method, an infrared absorption spectrum measuring method, a chemical reductions measuring method, an electrochemical effects measuring method, and combinations thereof, the gases measured being selected from the group consisting of CO, CO2, NO, N2O, NO2 and combinations thereof.