AN-AP composite propellant

Fig. 1. The postulated flame stmcture for an AP composite propellant, showing A, the primary flame, where gases are from AP decomposition and fuel pyrolysis, the temperature is presumably the propellant flame temperature, and heat transfer is three-dimensional followed by B, the final diffusion flame, where gases are O2 from the AP flame reacting with products from fuel pyrolysis, the temperature is the propellant flame temperature, and heat transfer is three-dimensional and C, the AP monopropellant flame where gases are products from the AP surface decomposition, the temperature is the adiabatic flame temperature for pure AP, and heat transfer is approximately one-dimensional. AP = ammonium perchlorate.

When aluminized AP composite propellant burns, a high mole fraction of aluminum oxide is produced as a combustion product, which generates visible smoke. If smoke has to be avoided, e. g. for miUtary purposes or a fireworks display, aluminum particles cannot be added as a component of an AP composite propellant In addition, a large amount of white smoke is produced even when non-aluminized AP composite propellants bum. This is because the combustion product HCl acts as a nucleus for moisture in the atmosphere and relatively large-sized water drops are formed as a fog or mist This physical process only occurs when the relative humidity in the atmosphere is above about 60%. If, however, the atmospheric temperature is below 260 K, white smoke is again formed because of the condensation of water vapor with HCl produced as combustion products. If the HCl smoke generated by AP combustion cannot be tolerated, the propellant should be replaced with a double-base propellant or the AP particles should be replaced with another... 

Fig. 7.2 An overall view of the reaction process and the temperature profile in the combustion wave of an AP composite propellant.

Fig. 7.34 Flame photographs of an AP composite propellant (a) and an RDX composite propellant (b) showing that the luminous flame front of the RDX composite propellant is distended from the burning surface ...

When some portion of the AP particles contained within an AP composite propellant is replaced with nitramine particles, an AP-nitramine composite propellan-tis formulated. However, the specific impulse is reduced because there is an insufficient supply of oxidizer to the fuel components, i. e., the composition becomes fuel-rich. The adiabatic flame temperature is also reduced as the mass fraction of nitramine is increased. Fig. 7.49 shows the results of theoretical calculations of and Tf for AP-RDX composite propellants as a function of Irdx- Th propellants are composed of jjxpb(0-13) and the chamber pressure is 7.0 MPa with an optimum expansion to 0.1 MPa. Both I p and T)-decrease with increasing Irdx- The molecular mass of the combustion products also decreases with increasing Irdx due to the production of Hj by the decomposition of RDX. It is evident that no excess oxidizer fragments are available to oxidize this H2. 

HCl molecules form visible white fog when water vapor is present in the atmosphere. An HCl molecule acts as a nucleus, becoming surrounded by HjO molecules, which forms a fog droplet large enough to be visible. When the combustion products of an AP composite propellant are expelled from a rocket nozzle into the atmosphere, a white smoke trail is seen as a rocket projectile trajectory whenever the relative humidity of the air is above about 40%. Furthermore, if the temperature of the atmosphere is below 0 °C (below 273 K), the HjO molecules generated among the combustion products form a white fog with the HCl molecules even if the relative humidity is less than 40 %. Thus, the amount of white fog generated by the combustion of an AP composite propellant is dependent not only on the humidity but also the temperature and pressure of the atmosphere. 

Figure 7-1. Combustion wave structure of an AP composite propellant.

Fig.4.n Rocket flight trajectories assisted by (a) an NC-NG double-base propellant and (b) an aluminized AP composite propellant. 

Azide polymers such as GAP and BAMO are also used to formulate AP composite propellants in order to give improved specific impulses compared with those of the above-mentioned AP-HTPB propellants. Since azide polymers are energetic materials that burn by themselves, the use of azide polymers as binders of AP particles, with or without aluminum particles, increases the specific impulse compared to those of AP-HTPB propellants. As shown in Fig. 4.15, the maximum of 260 s is obtained at (AP) = 0.80 and is approximately 12 % higher than that of an AP-HTPB propellant because the maximum loading density of AP particles is obtained at about (AP) = 0.86 in the formulation of AP composite propellants. Since the molecular mass of the combustion products. Mg, remains relatively unchanged in the region above (AP) = 0.8, decreases rapidly as (AP) increases. 

Fig. 7.24 Burning rate of an n-HC-cat-alyzed AP composite propellant, showing that the burning rate is increased drastically but that the pressure exponent remains unchanged by the addition of the catalyst.

When large spherical AP particles dg = 3 mm) are added, large flamelets are formed in the dark zone.Pl Close inspection of the AP particles at the burning surface reveals that a transparent bluish flame of low luminosity is formed above each AP particle. These are ammonia/perchloric acid flames, the products of which are oxidizer-rich, as are also observed for AP composite propellants at low pressures, as shown in Fig. 7.5. The bluish flame is generated a short distance from the AP particle and has a temperature of up to 1300 K. Surrounding the bluish flame, a yellowish luminous flame stream is formed. This yellowish flame is produced by in-terdiffusion of the gaseous decomposition products of the AP and the double-base matrix. Since the decomposition gas of the base matrix is fuel-rich and the temperature in the dark zone is about 1500 K, the interdiffusion of the products of the AP and the matrix shifts the relative amounts towards the stoichiometric ratio, resulting in increased reaction rate and flame temperature. The flame structure of an AP-CMDB propellant is illustrated in Fig. 8.1. 

Thus, AP is a valuable oxidizer for formulating smokeless propellants or smokeless gas generators. However, since the combustion products of AP composite propellants contain a relatively high concentration of hydrogen chloride (HCI), white smoke is generated when they are expelled from an exhaust nozzle into a humid atmosphere. When the HCI molecules diffuse into the air and collide with H2O molecules therein, an acid mist is formed which gives rise to visible white smoke. Typical examples are AP composite propellants used in rocket motors. Based on experimental observations, white smoke is formed when the relative humidity exceeds about 40 %. Thus, AP composite propellants without any metal particles are termed reduced-smoke propellants. On the other hand, a white smoke trail is always seen from the exhaust of a rocket projectile assisted by an aluminized AP composite propellant under any atmospheric conditions. Thus, aluminized AP composite propellants are termed smoke propellants. 

Fig. 12.21 shows the combustion products of AP-HTPB and RDX-HTPB composite propellants. Large amounts of H2O, HCl, and CO2 are formed when an AP-HTPB propellant composed of a.p(0.85) is burnt. The molecules of H2O, HCl, and CO2 each emit infrared radiation. On the other hand, no COj or C(g) is formed when an RDX-HTPB propellant composed of ri3x(0.85) is burnt. Instead, large amounts of CO, H2, and Nj molecules are formed as its major combustion products. However, no infrared radiation is emitted from H2 or N2 molecules. Though CO molecules are formed at ri3x(0.85), the infrared radiation emitted from these is less than that from H2O or CO2 molecules. 

Fig. 13.18 shows DC and AC pressure curves for an RDX-AP composite propellant having a six-pointed-star geometry burning at 9 M Pa. The combustion sud-... 

Fig. 13.21 shows another example of oscillatory burning of an RDX-AP composite propellant containing 0.40% A1 particles. The combustion pressure chosen for the burning was 4.5 MPa. The DC component trace indicates that the onset of the instability is 0.31 s after ignition, and that the instability lasts for 0.67 s. The pressure instability then suddenly ceases and the pressure returns to the designed pressure of 4.5 MPa. Close examination of the anomalous bandpass-filtered pressure traces reveals that the excited frequencies in the circular port are between 10 kHz and 30 kHz. The AC components below 10 kHz and above 30 kHz are not excited, as shown in Fig. 13.21. The frequency spectrum of the observed combustion instability is shown in Fig. 13.22. Here, the calculated frequency of the standing waves in the rocket motor is shown as a function of the inner diameter of the port and frequency. The sonic speed is assumed to be 1000 m s and I = 0.25 m. The most excited frequency is 25 kHz, followed by 18 kHz and 32 kHz. When the observed frequencies are compared with the calculated acoustic frequencies shown in Fig. 13.23, the dominant frequency is seen to be that of the first radial mode, with possible inclusion of the second and third tangential modes. The increased DC pressure between 0.31 s and 0.67 s is considered to be caused by a velocity-coupled oscillatory combustion. Such a velocity-coupled oscillation tends to induce erosive burning along the port surface. The maximum amplitude of the AC component pressure is 3.67 MPa between 20 kHz and 30 kHz. - ...

Fig. 13.21 DC- and AC-pressure curves of the combustion instability of an RDX-AP composite propellant containing 0.4% Al particles.

Fig. 13.26 Stable and unstable combustion regions for an RDX-AP composite propellant.

The polymeric binders used for nitramine composite propellants are similar to those used for AP composite propellants, i. e. HTPB, HTPE, and GAP. The combustion performance and the products of HMX composite propellants are shown in Figs. 4.17 and 4.18, respectively. Here, the binder mixed with the HMX particles is GAP, as in the AN-GAP propellants shown in Fig. 4.16. Though the maximum Tf and f, are obtained at (HMX) = 1.0, the maximum HMX loading is less than 0.80for practical HMX-GAP propellants, at which fp = 250 s and 7 =... 

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