Reduced erosion and its erosion reducing mechanism of gun propellants by octaphenylsilsesquioxane.

• Octaphenylsilsesquioxane (OPS) is a high-efficiency erosion inhibitor for gun propellants. • The erosion reduction efficiency of OPS is twice as high as that of TiO 2 or talc. • In the same proportion, OPS shows a minimal loss of gun propellant fire force than TiO 2 or talc. • The OPS reduces the flame temperature of the gun propellant. • The decomposed nano-SiO 2 protective layer hinders heat transfer and gas erosion. Low erosion high-energy propellant is one of the research directions to extend the weapon's life and improve the weapon's capability. In this study, energetic propellants containing different corrosion inhibitors were designed and prepared. Close bomb tests and semi-confined bomb experiments were used to investigate the burning and erosion properties of the propellants. The mechanism of erosion-reducing of titanium dioxide (titania, TiO 2), talc, and octaphenylsilsesquioxane (OPS) on the propellant was comparatively analyzed. The results show that OPS has the lowest burning rate and the longest burning time, and a minimized loss of fire force, with the best effect of explosion heat reduction. The erosion reduction efficiency of OPS is twice that of TiO 2 and talc. The mechanism analysis shows that the decomposition and heat absorption of OPS can effectively reduce the thermal erosion effect and carbon erosion, and the gas produced can reduce the loss of chamber pressure and form a uniformly distributed nano-SiO 2 protective layer. This solid-state high-efficiency organosilicon erosion inhibitor is an important guide for designing high-energy low-erosion gun propellants. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]