Propellent grains

Claim 1

A SOLID PROPELLENT GRAIN, SAID GRAIN COMPRISING A SELF-OXIDANT, SOLID PROPELLENT MATRIX, THE COMBUSTION OF WHICH GENERATES PROPELLENT GASES, AND HAVING AT LEAST ONE INITIAL, EXPOSED IGNITION SURFACE, SAID MATRIX CONTAINING EMBEDDED THEREIN AN ELONGATED METAL HEAT CONDUCTOR COATED WITH A SELF-OXIDANT, SOLID COATING HAVING A NORMAL BURNING RATE DIFFERENT FROM THE NORMAL BURNING RATE OF THE PROPELLENT MATRIX, SAID COATED MEMBER HEAT CONDUCTOR BEING POSITIONED SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO THE PLANE OF SAID INTITAL IGNITION SURFACE OF SAID GRAIN AND BEING CONTINUOUSLY AND LONGITUDINALLY DISPOSED IN THE DIRECTION OF FLAME PROPAGATION OF THE GRAIN, SAID CONDUCTOR WITHIN THE BODY OF THE GRAIN HAVING A LENGTH OF AT LEAST ABOUT 0.2 INCH AND A MAXIMUM METAL THICKNESS OF ABOUT 0.005 INCH IN AT LEAST ONE TRANSVERSE DIRECTION, THE ENTIRE SURFACE OF SAID LENGTH OF SAID COATED METAL CONDUCTOR LYING WITHIN THE BODY OF THE PROPELLENT GRAIN AND BEING IN INTIMATE, GAS-SEALING CONTACT WITH THE PROPELLENT MATRIX, THE BURNING SURFACE OF SAID GRAIN AFTER IGNITION REGENERATING PROGRESSIVELY ALONG SAID COATED METAL HEAT CONDUCTOR AND, IN SO DOING FORMING A RECESS WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY V-SHAPED IN AT LEAST ONE PLANE WITH SAID COATED METAL HEAT CONDUTOR AT THE APEX OF SAID RECESS, THEREBY FORMING A RECESSED SURFACE OF SUBSTANTIALLY LARGER SURFACE AREA THAN THAT OF A PLANE BURNING SURFACE, THE COATED METAL HEAT CONDUCTOR THEREBY SERVING CONTROLLABLY TO INCREASE THE MASS BURNING RATE AND, THEREBY, THE MASS RATE OF GAS GENERATION OF SAID PROPELLENT GRAIN TO A LEVEL DETERMINED BY THE PARTICULAR METAL HEAT CONDUCTOR AND THE RELATIVE BURNING RATES OF THE SELF-OXIDANT COATING AND THE PROPELLENT MATRIX.