Burning Characteristics of the HMX/CL‐20/AP/Polyvinyltetrazole Binder/Al Solid Propellants Loaded with Nanometals

The paper investigated the effect of metal nanopowders additive on the combustion properties of HMX/CL‐20/AP/polyvinyltetrazole binder/Al propellants. Using thermal analysis, the authors described the effect of aluminum, boron, zinc, nickel, copper, and molybdenum and identified the combustion in a pressure range from 4 to 10 MPa with a pressure step of 1 MPa. No significant correlation between the oxidation properties of the n‐Me powders and the combustion properties of propellants was discovered. An addition of nanopowders caused an increase in the propellant burning rate by approximately 30 % for n‐Al, n‐B, n‐Ni, and n‐Mo independent from the pressure values. An addition of n‐Cu resulted in a burning rate increase by a factor of 4.9 due to coppers’ probable catalytic activity during interaction with nitroesters and cyclic nitramines in a solid phase. n‐Zn additive increased the propellant burning rate by factors 2.3 and 3.6 at 4 and 10 MPa, respectively, due to catalytic activity of zinc in a gaseous phase.