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Ammonium Perchlorate, Friend or Foe? Part 1: The Influence of this Oxidizer on the Aging Behavior of Propellant Compositions
Author(s) -
Tunnell Ruth,
Ashcroft Mark,
Dale Roz,
Tod Dave,
Proud William G.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
propellants, explosives, pyrotechnics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.56
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1521-4087
pISSN - 0721-3115
DOI - 10.1002/prep.201300183
Subject(s) - ammonium perchlorate , propellant , polyethylene glycol , perchlorate , ammonium , hydrolysis , chemistry , inorganic chemistry , rocket propellant , materials science , nuclear chemistry , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , ion
Propellants containing nitroglycerine and ammonium perchlorate have been reported to have comparatively shorter shelf lives than analogous energetic materials without this oxidizer. However, investigation into the aging behavior of three compositions containing polyethylene glycol and nitroglycerine revealed that the propellant which included ammonium perchlorate degraded at a slower rate compared with the other materials. It was suggested that ammonium perchlorate might act as an oxygen inhibitor reducing the oxidation rate of the polyethylene glycol binder so decreasing the rate of the propellant decomposition. In addition, at temperatures of 80 °C or lower, ammonium perchlorate initially appears to hinder acid hydrolysis of nitroglycerine which also slows down the degradation of polyethylene glycol based propellant.