Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate in the Presence of Copper Tungsten Oxide (CuWO₄)

Abstract

The catalytic effect of copper tungsten oxide (CuWO 4 ) was investigated on the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) using differential scanning calorimetry. A lowering of the high-temperature decomposition peak temperature of AP was observed due to catalytic effect of copper tungsten oxide particles, now referred to as CTO in this paper henceforth. The kinetic parameters were evaluated using the Kissinger method. The decrease in the activation energy confirmed the catalytic activity of CTO. Further, CTO was evaluated in a standard composite propellant formulation having 86 % solid loading. Propellant performance and processing parameters such as the end of mix (EOM) viscosity, density, burning rate, pressure exponent (n-value), etc. were measured for standard as well as a composition containing 1 % CTO. The results revealed that at 1 % level CTO causes more than 36 % increase in propellant burning rate compared to the standard propellant composition at 6.86 MPa pressure. The pressure exponent also increased to 0.48, whereas the standard composition was having its value of 0.41.

Preparation of ferrocene‐based Schiff base derivatives for the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate

“…In general, a typical CSP mainly includes an inorganic oxidant (AP), a polymer binder (hydroxyl‐terminated polybutadiene, HTPB), a metallic fuel (Aluminum, Al), a burning rate catalyst (BRC) and other additives, of which AP accounts for over half of the CSPs. Moreover, the thermal decomposition rate of AP can significantly affect the combustion performance of CSPs [4–8] . To improve the combustion performance of CSPs, the catalytic thermal decomposition of AP was extensively studied by the addition of BRCs, which can influence the burning rate of propellant.…”

“…Moreover, the thermal decomposition rate of AP can significantly affect the combustion performance of CSPs. [4][5][6][7][8] To improve the combustion performance of CSPs, the catalytic thermal decomposition of AP was extensively studied by the addition of BRCs, which can influence the burning rate of propellant. It is crucial to gain high energy through improving the decomposition efficiency of AP at low burning temperature because of the limited loading amount of BRCs.…”