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Ammonium nitrate (AN) and ammonium perchlorate (AP) are investigated as propellants for their thermal decomposition behaviors and burning characteristics. The performance effects of AP particle size, AP content in the oxidizer (ξ), and a catalytic amount of Fe2O3 on the propellants are evaluated. A dependency exists between the thermal decomposition behaviors of the propellants and both AP particle size and ξ. Addition of Fe2O3 further affected the thermal decomposition behaviors of the propellants; these behaviors are not dependent on the added amount. Furthermore, the burning characteristics are dependent on the AP size, ξ, and the amount of Fe2O3 added. The low-pressure ignitability of the propellants containing 2% Fe2O3 with ξ = 0.2 and 0.4 is inferior to the propellant with ξ = 0 (no AP) and the propellants containing 4% Fe2O3 with ξ = 0.2 and 0.4. An increase in 4% Fe2O3 caused a positive catalytic effect, causing an equal or higher burning rate of the propellants than that of 2% Fe2O3, except in the case of AN/AP propellants with coarse AP at ξ = 0.4 and 0.6 above 4 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The partial substitution of ammonium perchlorate (AP) for ammonium nitrate (AN) improves the burning characteristics of AN‐based propellants, because the advantages of AP propellants compensate for the drawbacks of AN propellants and vice versa. The burning characteristics of AN/AP‐based propellants supplemented with MnO2 and Fe2O3 were measured, and the effects of these catalysts on the burning characteristics of the propellants were investigated using the collected data. The ignitability and the burning rate of the AN/AP propellant was improved by the addition of MnO2. The addition of the MnO2/Fe2O3 bicatalyst improved the ignitability of the propellants compared to adding only MnO2, but the improvement was identical to that obtained using Fe2O3. The burning rate increased in the order MnO2