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Mapping of Aluminum Particle Dispersion in Solid Rocket Fuel Formulations

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Chemical Rocket Propulsion

Part of the book series: Springer Aerospace Technology ((SAT))

Abstract

Composite specimens consisting of two different kinds of hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) loaded with either micron- or nanometer-sized Al powders were synthesized. The spatial distribution of the particles was investigated with a combination of Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The tested specimens were prepared by different manufacturing procedures to inhibit particle clustering. Although the dispersion of nano-sized Al particles was the primary interest, micron-sized Al was also used as a reference. Some specimens were prepared by ultrasonic-assisted mixing, others by a simple mechanical mixing procedure, and further specimens by a mechanical mixing process with the addition of dispersing agents (used commercially in pigment and coating applications to reduce inter-particulate attraction forces between particles). Spatial mapping of the C=O Raman mode associated with the HTPB was used to quantify the dispersion of the micron-sized Al particles. Tapping mode AFM and SEM measurements were used to identify the dispersion of both the micron- and nano-sized Al particles. The presence of clusters composed of many nano-sized particles was also identified and their size measured. The results obtained show the potential of these characterization techniques in evaluating the effectiveness of the manufacturing processes of the tested solid fuels and of the examined dispersion processes.

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Abbreviations

AFM:

Atomic force microscopy

ALEX:

Aluminum exploded

CAl :

Active Al content

DOA:

Dioctyl adipate

HTPB:

Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene

HTPB-45M:

MACH I® propulsion grade™ HTPB

HTPB-R45HTLO:

Commercial Poly bd® HTPB

IPDI:

Isophorone diisocyanate

nAl:

Nano-sized Al particle

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

Ssp :

Specific surface m2/g

TEM:

Transmission electron microcopy

μAl:

Micron-sized Al particle

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Acknowledgment

The authors thank Dr. Gianluigi Marra and ENI – Istituto Donegani (Novara, Italy) for the high-quality SEM and TEM images of the as-prepared nAl powders (ALEX100 and L-ALEX) prior to dispersion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oklahoma State University, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA

    Arezoo Zare, Tres A. Harriman & Don A. Lucca

  2. Space Propulsion Laboratory (SPLab), Department of Aerospace Science and Technology, Politecnico di Milano, 20156, Milan, Italy

    Silvia Roncalli, Christian Paravan & Luigi T. DeLuca

  3. MACH I, Inc., King of Prussia, PA, 19406, USA

    Silvia Roncalli & Bernard M. Kosowski

Authors
  1. Arezoo Zare
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  2. Tres A. Harriman
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  3. Don A. Lucca
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  4. Silvia Roncalli
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  5. Bernard M. Kosowski
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  6. Christian Paravan
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  7. Luigi T. DeLuca
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Don A. Lucca .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Space Propulsion Laboratory (SPLab) Department of Aerospace Science and Technology, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Luigi T. De Luca

  2. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Sagamihara, Japan

    Toru Shimada

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology, Moscow, Russia

    Valery P. Sinditskii

  4. The Inner Arch, Poissy, France

    Max Calabro

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Zare, A. et al. (2017). Mapping of Aluminum Particle Dispersion in Solid Rocket Fuel Formulations. In: De Luca, L., Shimada, T., Sinditskii, V., Calabro, M. (eds) Chemical Rocket Propulsion. Springer Aerospace Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27748-6_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27748-6_27

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-27746-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-27748-6

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