Propellent grains

Claim 1

A PROPELLENT GRAIN, SAID GRAIN BEING DESIGNED TO BURN PROGRESSIVELY FROM ONE END WHICH IS AN INTIAL EXPOSED IGNITION SURFACE AND COMPRISING A SELF-OXIDANT PROPELLENT MATRIX, THE COMBUSTION OF WHICH GENERATES PROPELLENT GASES, SAID MATRIX CONTAINING EMBEDDED THEREIN AN ELONGATED METAL HEAT CONDUCTOR POSITIONED SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO SAID INITIAL IGNITION SURFACE OF SAID GRAIN AND BEING CONTINUOUSLY DISPOSED IN THE DIRECTION OF FLAME PROPAGATION OF THE GRAIN, THE LENGTH OF THE CONDUCTOR EMBEDDED WITHIN THE BODY OF THE GRAIN BEING AT LEAST ABOUT 0.08 INCH, THE ENTIRE SURFACE OF SAID EMBEDDED LENGTH BEING IN INTIMATE, GAS-SEALING CONTACT WITH THE PROPELLENT MATRIX, SAID EMBEDDED ELONGATED METAL HEAT CONDUCTOR VARYING IN THE RATIO OF ITS CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA TO PERIMETER IN PRESELECTED MANNER AND IN APPRECIABLE AMOUNT ALONG ITS LENGTH, THE BURNING SURFACE OF SAID GRAIN AFTER IGNITION REGENERATING PROGRESSIVE ALONG SAID METAL HEAT CONDUCTOR AND, IN SO DOING, FORMING A RECESS WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY V-SHAPED IN AT LEAST ONE PLANE WITH SAID METAL HEAT CONDUCTOR AT THE APEX OF THE THUS FORMED RECESS, SAID RECESS CHANGING IN BURNING SURFACE AREA AT A GIVEN COMBUSTION CHAMBER PRESSURE WITH THE PRESELECTED VARIATION IN SAID RATIO OF CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID CONDUCTOR TO PERIMETER, THE METAL HEAT CONDUCTOR THEREBY SERVING CONTROLLABLY AND IN A PREDETERMINED AND PRESELECTED MANNER TO VARY APPRECIABLY THE MASS BURNING RATE AND, THEREBY, THE MASS RATE OF GAS GENERATION OF THE PROPELLENT GRAIN.