Combustion of Composite Propellants

Ammonium perchlorate (AP) is the most widely used crystalline oxidizer to formulate composite propellants for rockets. In order to clarify the combustion wave structure of AP composite propellants, photographic observations of the gas phase at low pressure are very informative. Nitramines such as HMX and RDX are high-energy-density materials that produce high-temperature gaseous products. When some portion of the AP particles contained within an AP composite propellant is replaced with nitramine particles, an AP-nitramine composite propellant is formulated. Since the heat flux generated at the burning surface is high for both TAGN and GAP, the burning rate of a TAGN-GAP propellant is controlled by the rate of heat release at the burning surface. The burning rate of the AN-(BAMO-AMMO)-HMX propellant is clearly increased by the addition of these catalysts. The ballistic properties of ADN, HNF, and HNIW as monopropellants and as oxidizers in composite propellants have been extensively studied.