Effects of 2CL-20/HMX cocrystals on the thermal decomposition behavior and combustion properties of polyether solid propellants

Abstract

Herein, the effects of cocrystals of two nitroamine explosives, namely hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) and 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazoctane (HMX), which are denoted as CHC, on the combustion properties, heat release, and safety profiles of polyether solid propellants were systematically analyzed. The peak decomposition temperature of CHC was found to be 244.8 °C, which is lower than those of its component CL-20 and HMX. However, the thermal stability of CHC was similar to that of CL-20, and the thermal decomposition behavior of CHC was significantly different from that of a physical mixture of CL-20 and HMX. In addition, similar to CL-20, CHC was not completely decomposed upon heating, despite the decomposition activation energy of CHC (322.7 kJ·mol−1) being similar to that of HMX (322.4 kJ·mol−1). In contrast, the thermal decomposition behaviors of CHC-based propellants differed from those of solid propellants that were based on physical mixtures of CL-20 and HMX. During thermal decomposition, CHC did not decompose into CL-20 and HMX, and the heat released from the CHC-based propellants was more concentrated than that released from the other propellant mixture examined. Furthermore, the rate of combustion of CHC-based propellants fell between those of the CL-20- and HMX-based propellants at all the tested pressures. The pressure exponents of combustion rates of the examined CHC-based propellants were slightly lower than those of the CL-20- and HMX-based propellants, and the combustion rates and their corresponding pressure exponents decreased with a decrease in the CHC particle size. Moreover, the explosive heat of CHC-based propellant was between those of the CL-20-based and HMX-based propellants, and similar to that of a CL-20/HMX mixture-based propellant. Finally, the safety performance of CHC-based propellant was almost identical to that of the CL-20/HMX mixture.

Keywords

• CL-20/HMX cocrystal
• Thermal decomposition
• Combustion properties
• Solid propellant
• Combustion rate