Fuel, rocket gelled

CA 53, 17513 (1959). Materials useful as rocket fuels, semisolid or gelled fuels for bursting and tail-ejection-type bombs, and incendiary fuels for flame throwers and hand grenades are described. They are made by mixing 0.1-25% by wt of satd, unsatd, or aromatic nitrohydrocarbons or their mixts, such as nitro- or dinitromethane, -ethane, -propane, or -butane with divinylated ketoses or diaryl deoxyketitols prepd by reaction of C3 g ketose sugars with C6 M aromatic hydrocarbons. The latter include CfiH, toluene, naphthalene, anthracene and their alkylated derivs... 

J. Winkler, USP 3460922 (1969) CA 71, 93351 (1969) claims a thixotropic-gelled flammable hydrocarbon compsn, containing powdered metals and/or AN, for use in flamethrowers, rocket fuel and napalm. The hydrocarbon gel is prepd by an in situ cross-linking of a polyurethane... 

Thixotropic gels are also useful as propellants for rocket applications. These are commonly called thixotropes or gels. Normal fuels and oxidizers are converted into thioxotropes by the addition of a small quantity of a gelling agent in order to ensure uniform suspension of solid additives (usually metal additives) during storage. It is reported that if very finely pulverized particles of beryllium or aluminum are suspended in the liquid fuel, it is possible to increase the specific impulse substantially. 

Vander Wall, E. M., Andersen, R. E., and Cabeal, J. A., Preparation and Characterization of Gelled Hydrazine Based Fuels Containing Aluminum, Final Report, AFRPL-TR-80-40, Air Force Rocket Propellant Laboratory (1980, July). 

Hydroxyl-terminated polydiene resins gelled by the reaction with orthosilicate esters have increased thermal stability. These polymeric gels, like silicone rubbers, exhibit outstanding electrical properties. The polymeric gels crosslinked at ambient temperature are castable as self-curing liquids. For example, they are used as binders for rocket solid fuels, in coatings for pipes, tanks, etc. They can be mixed with rubbers. 

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