Expert assessment of the selection criteria of disposal of decommissioned solid rocket charge disposal methods

Abstract

The subject of study in this article is the processes that occur during the disposal of solid fuel rockets, methods of disposal, and criteria for choosing an effective method of disposal. This study identified the most significant criteria that determine the choice of an effective method for the disposal of decommissioned solid-fuel rocket charges. The task: to consider the risks of the man-made impact of the process of disposal of solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles on the environment, associated with the emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere, the scattering of fragments, the occurrence of shock air, and seismic and soliton waves; analyze the advantages and disadvantages of existing methods of destruction and use of solid propellant charges of rocket engines; expertly evaluate the criteria for the selection of disposal methods; and a priori ranking of criteria. The method of a priori ranking was chosen as the method of solving the given problem. The following results were obtained. The degree of consistency of the experts’ conclusions was assessed using the concordance coefficient. The hypothesis regarding the significance of the concordance coefficient was tested on the basis of a comparison of the calculated value of the concordance coefficient with the tabulated value at the given values of the significance level and the number of degrees of freedom. The most significant factors that should be taken into account when choosing a disposal method are identified (economic efficiency; the possibility of reusing the fuel that is removed; manufacturability; the probability of emergency situations during the implementation of the method; environmental safety; energy intensity), and factors that can be excluded from further analysis (the need for additional special systems, the degree of mastery of the method). Conclusions. The scientific novelty of the obtained results is as follows: the formalization and mathematical processing of a priori data on the subject of research was conducted, and a comparative assessment of the degree of influence of various criteria on known and promising methods of disposal of solid rocket fuel charges is given. According to the preliminary evaluation, the set of significant selection criteria is most fully met by the cryogenic washing method, the application of which allows the use of solid fuel and crushed substances extracted from solid fuel charges to improve the characteristics of modern detonation engines, to improve the characteristics of the technological processes of applying special refractory coatings, and to organize highly efficient combustion processes in the detonation mode of fuel with the production of thermal and electrical energy.