Study on the erosion reducing mechanisms of microencapsulated hydroxyl silicone oil with a hybrid shell

The erosion of barrel weapons is becoming increasingly severe with the application of high-energy gun propellants, which significantly reduces the service life. To address this issue, a type of microcapsules with hydroxyl silicone oil and urea–formaldehyde (UF) mixed with nano TiO 2 was prepared. The morphology, element distribution, thermal stability, and chemical composition were characterized by SEM, EDS, TG, and FT-IR, respectively. The results reveal that the structure of microcapsules is intact and nano TiO 2 was successfully embedded in the shell. Erosion simulation test was introduced to synthesize the erosion reducing by microcapsules. The erosion reducing rate could reach 11.63% when 2 wt% of microcapsules were added to triple-base gun propellants. And a deposit layer could be observed on the surface of erosion tubes. However, the limited addition of nanoparticles fails to provide effective protection.