Impact of MWCNT/Al on the combustion behavior of hydroxyl ammonium nitrate (HAN)-based electrically controlled solid propellant

In the controllable combustion field, hydroxyl ammonium nitrate (HAN)-based electrically controlled solid propellants (ECSPs) is of growing interest in green fuels with safety, throttle- ability and at-will on-off capability. However, the current research is confined to the ignition characteristics and ablation process of basic ECSP formulations (75 wt% HAN ionic liquid oxidizer, 5 wt% ammonium nitrate co-oxidizer and 20 wt% polyvinyl alcohol binder), rather than working in functional additives. Herein, multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and nano/micro aluminum powders were introduced in ECSPs, facilitating electrical conductivity and energy release. It indicates that the homogeneous dispersed MWCNT in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) microspheres, preparing by the micro-segmented flow method, results in a 9.8% increase in electrical conductivity of the ECSPs. At 0.5 MPa, ECSPs containing 1%, 3% and 5% 5 µm aluminum powder reinforce the burning rate by 38.0%, 186.3%, 214.7% and mass ablation by 10.7%, 95.2%, 175.6% at 200 V, yet the large heat release by excess aluminum powder shifts the non-self-sustaining combustion of ECSPs to self-sustaining combustion at high pressure (above 0.8 MPa). The mechanism of promoting ECSPs combustion by liberating aluminum-nitric acid (released by HAN ionization) reaction were proposed.