Fuels, Propellants and Explosives

Table 14.1 The distinguishing characteristics of burning fuel, propellants, and explosives...

Propellants and Explosives. Hydrazine fuels include anhydrous hydrazine (AH), monomethyUiydrazine (MMH), and unsymmetrical dimethyUiydrazine (UDMH) for military and space programs. These compounds are used mainly as bipropeUant fuels, ie, with oxidizers, in rockets such as the Titan, MX missile, and the Ariane (UDA4H7X30. Using oxygen or fluorine as the oxidizer, hydrazine is exceeded only by hydrogen in specific impulse, ie, kilograms of thmst developed for each kilogram of fuel consumed per second (196). 

Fundamental research in pyrotechnics is published in the US in Combustion and Flame by the Combustion Institute, and in the UK in Combustion Science and Technology and in Fuel . Germany has the new, journal, Propellants and Explosives (German Chemical Society), which is the successor to the discontinued Explosivstoffe . A necessary caveat is that these journals are strongly oriented toward combustion or propulsion so that only rarely do they yield pyrotechnic information. Likewise, the various publications of the learned societies contain much data on thermodynamics, spectroscopy, and instrumental analysis which are useful in the study of pyrotechnics. In the USSR the situation is somewhat better as Physics of Combustion and Explosion (Fizika Gorenia i Vzryva) of the Siberian Branch Academy of Sciences USSR is exclusively oriented toward subjects of interest, as several scientific institutes are primarily devoted to research in pyrotechnics. The same authors do publish also, however, in the journals of the Academy of Science USSR (of which there are several) as well as in the corresponding journals of the academies of the various republics, so that the impression is created of a high level of activity... 

When metal particles are oxidized, a large amount of heat is generated. However, the oxidized products are agglomerated condensed-phase particles and very little gaseous productis formed. Therefore, the potential use of metal particles as fuel components of propellants and explosives is limited. When organic materials composed... 

In order to obtain higher values of propellants and explosives, various types of chemicals are admixed, such as plasticizers, stabilizers, and reachon rate modifiers. The major chemicals are fuels and oxidizers. The fuels react with the oxidizers to produce heat and gaseous products. Even when the AHf J values of both the fuel... 

Crystalline materials used as oxidizer components of propellants and explosives decompose thermally to produce gaseous fragments which act as oxidizer fragments. On the other hand, hydrocarbon polymers used as fuel components such as polyurethane and polybutadiene decompose endothermically and generate hydrogen, solid carbon, and other hydrocarbon fragments which act as fuel fragments. The mixtures of the hydrocarbon polymers and the crystalline materials are ener-... 

The perchlorates used for propellants and explosives are ammonium perchlorate (AP NH4CIO4), nitronium perchlorate (NP N02C104), and potassium perchlorate (KP KCIO4). AP is the major crystalline oxidizer used for composite rocket propellants. The oxygen molecules produced by the decomposition act as an oxidizer when AP particles are mixed with a polymeric fuel component, for example,... 

In the field of propellants and explosives, studies have been made of the detonation properties of potassium dinitrobenzofuroxan 493,535 and the corresponding barium salt,492 of 3-methyl-4-nitrofuroxan,127 of benzo-trifuroxan,129,130 and of dicyanofuroxan.128,134 This last compound is used in preparing a hypergolic bipropellant system,536 and as a constituent, with tetrazole polymers, of solid fuels for rocket propulsion.537... 

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