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Inorganic Nanoparticles for Gun Propellants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

Barbara Baschung
Barbara Baschung*
Affiliation:
[email protected], French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis, 5, rue du Général Cassagnou, SAINT LOUIS, N/A, 68680, France
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Abstract

The possibility of increasing the burning rate of solid rocket propellants by adding nanoparticles of aluminum into the propellant formulation has already been well-known for many years. This paper deals with micron- and nanoparticles embedded in gun propellants. The objective is to increase the gun performance. The burning behavior of solid propellants based on ultra-fine aluminum powder was investigated in a high pressure range which is reached in a gun tube. The burning rate of such a propellant is much higher (nearly two orders of magnitude) than for the similar propellant with the micron-sized aluminum. This paper presents a review of burning experiments with propellants based on the nano- and micron-sized particles of aluminum. The burning behavior of NENA solid propellants based on nano-scale aluminum was studied as a function of the portion of aluminum in the mixture. The burning of these propellants follows Vieille's burning law. The burning rate increases by augmenting the aluminum portion in the propellant. Theoretical models are reviewed in order to understand these experimental burning results. An advanced propellant coated with appropriate nanoparticles is presented in the conclusion. With this propellant and a special ignition by microwaves it should be possible to ignite solid propellants by using high loading densities (> 1.2 g/cm3).

Keywords

energetic materialAlnanoscale
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 896: Symposium H – Multifunctional Energetic Materials , 2005 , 0896-H03-07
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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References

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