Hongsheng Yu,Suhang Chen,Xiaodong Yu,Wei Zhang,Christian Paravan,Luigi T. DeLuca,Ruiqi Shen
The slow regression rate induced by the difficulty of pyrolysis has limited the practical application of hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB)-based fuels for hybrid rocket propulsion. A possible strategy is the use of suitable transition metal elements promoting polymer matrix thermal decomposition of fuels. This paper investigates the effects of nickel acetylacetonate, Ni(acac) 2 , on the thermal stability and combustion of HTPB-based fuel formulations. The presented experimental results show that the addition of Ni(acac) 2 can intensely decrease the thermal stability of HTPB thus enhancing the solid fuel regression rate even at a small additive mass fraction: under an oxygen mass flux of 50 kg/m 2 s, HTPB + 5 wt% Ni(acac) 2 shows a 25.5% increase over the non-loaded baseline. Kinetics analyses reveal that the catalytic effect is mainly induced by the Ni 2+ in Ni(acac) 2 at the early stage of decomposition, and by the NiO produced from the oxidative decomposition of Ni(acac) 2 in the fuel final degradation stage. On the other hand, the addition of Ni(acac) 2 decreases the combustion heat of HTPB-based fuels significantly and implies the accumulation of its decomposition products (much metal Ni, moderate elemental C, and a little NiO.) at the fuel regressing surface. Eventually, when the content of Ni(acac) 2 exceeds 5 wt%, the growth of regression rate slows down rapidly, and a performance detriment occurs at 40 wt%. This study verifies the catalytic effect of Ni(acac) 2 on polymer matrix for HTPB based fuels showing the attractive regression rate performance of this additive.
Yuhuai Shi,Xuefang Cao,Qiaoni Ren,Tengyue Song,Yuhao Wu,Zhixian Wei,Xiong Cao
This study explores the potential of energetic metal–organic frameworks (E-MOFs) to enhance the combustion performance of solid propellants. A {[Bi 6 O 3 (tza) 5 (NO 3 ) 2 (OH) 5 ]·H 2 O} n (Bi-MOF) incorporating the energetic ligand tetrazole-1-acetic acid (Htza) was synthesized and evaluated for structural characteristics and properties. The catalytic thermal decomposition of cyclotrimethylene trinitramine (RDX) and cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (HMX) by mixed systems was investigated. These systems consisted of Bi-MOF and copper-iron hetero-metallic compound ({[CuFe 3 O(tza) 6 (H 2 O) 3 ]·Cl·(NO 3 ) 2 ·4H 2 O} n , CuFe-MOF), previously reported by our group in different ratios. The effect of the mixed system with the highest synergy index on the combustion performance of composite modified double-base propellant (RDX-CMDB) and nitrate ester plasticized polyether propellant (HMX-NEPE) was investigated. The impact of varying carbon black (CB) contents on the catalytic performance of the mixed system was also examined. The results showed that Bi-MOF exhibits good thermal stability ( T dec = 226.9 °C) and insensitivity ( IS >40 J, FS >360 J). The mixed system, comprising Bi-MOF and CuFe-MOF in a 2:1 ratio (M 2 ), exhibited the highest synergistic indices (3.35 and 3.24) on thermal decomposition for RDX and HMX. RDX-CMDB and HMX-NEPE propellant formulations containing M 2 and a small amount of CB exhibited significant improvements in combustion performance. RDX-CMDB propellant exhibited up to an 80.6 % increase in burning rate and up to a 59.6 % reduction in pressure index. The pressure indices of NEPE without and with aluminum were reduced from 0.65 and 0.50 to 0.38 and 0.40, respectively (10–20 MPa, 1–20 MPa). These findings highlight the promise of the mixed system, formed by Bi-MOF and CuFe-MOF, as a potential combustion catalyst for RDX-CMDB and HMX-NEPE propellants.