An Investigation of the Extended Storage of Single-base Propellants

An investigation of single-base propellants has been conducted. The ageing process during extended storage of single-base propellants (SBP) in nonheated military stores and a heated building has been investigated by elemental analysis. Two or three different absorbencies around the band at 1650 cm-1 were observed by FTIR spectroscopy. In this way, not only the denitration of the propellants was determined, but also cleavage of -O-C- bonds between the glycoside rings in the nitrocellulose macromolecules. The latter process was confirmed by the swelling of the SBP.