Brief:
For some time, I've been interested in learnin' how t' make composite motors and have heard many recommendations for 'Pr'fesser' Terry McCreary's book, me bucko, "Experimental Composite Propellant." When I discovered that Aerocon distributes t' book, I couldn't resist orderin' a copy. Aye aye! I thoroughly enjoyed t' book and it was worth t' price just t' learn more about those cool little things that I love t' stuff into me rockets. Avast! Ya scallywag! This review provides an overview o' t' book rather than a technical critique, ya bilge rat, as I'm just a beginner in this field.

Overview:
T' book is informally bound and self-published. Arrr! It includes a 3 1/2" disk (Excel or Quattro Pro format) with t' ProPel design spreadsheets (more about this later) and a nifty executable that provides a tutorial on how rocket motors work, called 'Motortut'. Avast! T' other program referenced in t' text, matey, matey, ya bilge rat, PropEP, is nay provided, but thar are references on where t' get it online (it's also free).

This book falls somewhere betwixt a cookbook, me bucko, lecture notes, me bucko, and a textbook. Blimey! Begad! It is written in an easy t' read, shiver me timbers, informal format and is non-technical. Begad! That is, ya bilge rat, t' author provides just enough theory t' let you know what you are doin' and why. Well, blow me down! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! After some compulsory disclaimers, me hearties, me hearties, arrr, introductions and acknowledgements, ya bilge rat, he gets down t' business. T' first meaty section is entitled "Safety First" - a very prudent startin' point. Ya scallywag! It includes dos and don'ts, ya bilge rat, and a proposed safety code. Blimey! In t' followin' section, he discusses t' legality o' propellant making. Begad! He presents guidelines t' stay legal, me bucko, makin' sure you realize that it is up t' you t' ensure your compliance with nay only federal, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but also state and local laws as well.

Next comes some background on composite propellant and a description o' how a composite motor works. Begad! Blimey! This is pretty basic stuff but is necessary for completeness. Ya scallywag! T' Motortut program provides a nice graphical description o' much o' this material. Ya scallywag! Begad! Put this on a PC with a projector and you're ready t' teach a scout troop about rocket motors.

T' subsequent sections provide some light theory, me hearties, covering: motor thrust, shiver me timbers, specific impulse (Isp), total impulse, burn rate, chamber pressure, matey, me bucko, matey, and burn profiles (neutral, me bucko, progressive, and regressive). He defines t' area ratio (Kn), shiver me timbers, which equals t' area o' burnin' propellant surface divided by t' area o' t' nozzle throat. Begad! Ya scallywag! Blimey! It turns out this parameter is directly related t' chamber pressure and provides t' basis for, among other things, t' control o' burn characteristics and t' scalin' o' a motor design. Avast, me proud beauty! He continues by describin' different grain configurations (gee, shiver me timbers, I now understand what a Bates grain really is!) and nozzle design.

He then moves on t' more hands-on stuff, shiver me timbers, describin' in detail all t' equipment and supplies you will need. These items are broken down into 'gotta have', 'nice t' get later' and 'for vacuum processing' categories. Avast, me proud beauty! This is followed by a simple propellant formula with a step-by-step, 'cookbook' process for makin' enough propellant for several G motors. Ya scallywag! Blimey! One thin' t' note is that his propellant descriptions are based on usin' PBAN as t' binder. Ahoy! Arrr! Blimey! I personally haven't formed an opinion about whether PBAN is better than HTPB, ya bilge rat, which in me limited perspective seems more commonly used. Arrr! Blimey! He does provide enough information t' use HTPB, shiver me timbers, but it would take a tad more effort from t' novice.

Bein' a scientist, arrr, t' Pr'fesser stresses keepin' a good lab notebook t' keep track o' your experiments. Ahoy! Arrr! (We engineers like them too!) He has a section on troubleshooting, one on buildin' static test motors, me hearties, one on performin' t' static tests, ya bilge rat, and one on how t' use t' data from your tests t' characterize your propellant.

Now t' focus changes from motor buildin' t' motor design. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! He discusses design parameters and a design procedure. Well, blow me down! Several examples o' adaptin' his basic propellant for different motor sizes are provided. Then, me bucko, he discusses subjects like oxidizer particle size, arrr, t' effects o' metals, shiver me timbers, arrr, burn rate modifiers, me bucko, etc. Ahoy! Several propellant variations are provided, along with their characterizations. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Finally, he ends t' main body o' t' book with a discussion o' scaling.

But that's nay it. Well, blow me down! Over half o' t' book's 243 pages are in t' appendices.

T' appendices include a description o' t' PropEP program and t' author's ProPel notebook. In me case, t' latter includes several spreadsheets within an Excel Workbook. Blimey! I included a screen snap o' one o' t' ProPel sheets, which allows you t' compute either nozzle throat size or Kn given t' grain dimensions. He continues with t' plans for a curin' oven, t' use o' corin' rods, matey, arrr, nozzle construction (here you really need machinin' skills), t' design and construction o' reloadable motors (ack, more machining), shiver me timbers, and scratch buildin' igniters (I like both Igniterman and Magnelite). Begad! He goes on t' give an overview o' polymer chemistry, shiver me timbers, describin' t' reactions betwixt binders, curatives, crosslinkers, bondin' agents, me hearties, catalysts, me bucko, shiver me timbers, plasticizers, me hearties, and surfactants. Ya scallywag! This all leads t' a description and examples o' curin' calculations. Next are sections on mixin' HTPB, shiver me timbers, how t' do machine mixin' (the basic procedure uses hand mixing), vacuum processing, buildin' an instrumented thrust stand, and a description o' t' combustion process. Avast, me proud beauty! There also is a lengthy vendor list (chemicals and equipment) and an annotated bibliography includin' both books and on-line resources. He concludes t' book with a miscellaneous set o' essays that he calls 'Sermonettes.' Well, I am worn out and leave it up t' you t' get t' book and see what's in this final section.

Summary:
This is a fascinatin' book and I think most rocketeers would enjoy it, me hearties, even if you do nay plan t' build motors. Blimey! I have no doubt that I learned enough t' make a composite motor. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! However, matey, t' book clearly taught me one thin' that I had already suspected. That is, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, makin' motors can be *relatively* safe, but is by no means risk free. It is an activity that is nay t' be taken lightly and one does NOT want t' cut corners, ya bilge rat, as your safety and t' safety o' others is at stake. Begad! Ahoy! And for now, I just don't have an adequate location t' make them. Ya scallywag! Bein' new t' this stuff, ya bilge rat, t' only other thin' I'd like t' see in t' book is expanded treatment o' HTPB, includin' a cookbook example o' a basic propellant (again, me hearties, it seems that most people I'm familiar with use this binder), matey, and some sample propellant formulations with their characterizations. Avast! Begad! Anyone with any experience will probably think this is too much spoon-feeding.

I rate this book a '5'. T' quote t' Pr'fesser, "more knowledge is almost always better."

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5