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A Study on New Composite Thermoplastic Propellant

Authors :
Masanobu Nakayama
Takehiro Kahara
Kazushige Katoh
Keiichi Hori
Yasuhiro Morita
Hiroshi Hasegawa
Haruki Maruizumi
Ryojiro Akiba
Shigehumi Miyazaki
Source :
TRANSACTIONS OF THE JAPAN SOCIETY FOR AERONAUTICAL AND SPACE SCIENCES, SPACE TECHNOLOGY JAPAN. 7:Pa_91-Pa_95
Publication Year :
2009
Publisher :
Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences, 2009.

Abstract

Efforts have been paid to realize a new composite propellant using thermoplastics as a fuel binder and lithium as a metallic fuel. Thermoplastics binder makes it possible the storage of solid propellant in small blocks and to provide propellants blocks into rocket motor case at a quantity needed just before use, which enables the production facility of solid propellant at a minimum level, thus, production cost significantly lower. Lithium has been a candidate for a metallic fuel for the ammonium perchlorate based composite propellants owing to its capability to reduce the hydrogen chloride in the exhaust gas, however, never been used because lithium is not stable at room conditions and complex reaction products between oxygen, nitrogen, and water are formed at the surface of particles and even in the core. However, lithium particles whose surface shell structure is well controlled are rather stable and can be stored in thermoplastics for a long period. Evaluation of several organic thermoplastics whose melting temperatures are easily tractable was made from the standpoint of combustion characteristics, and it is shown that thermoplastics propellants can cover wide range of burning rate spectrum. Formation of well-defined surface shell of lithium particles and its kinetics are also discussed.

Details

ISSN :
13473840
Volume :
7
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
TRANSACTIONS OF THE JAPAN SOCIETY FOR AERONAUTICAL AND SPACE SCIENCES, SPACE TECHNOLOGY JAPAN
Accession number :
edsair.doi...........958fc568a80e29b920384012129c5f69