Studies on Aluminized, High Burning Rate, Butacene® Based, Composite Propellants

This paper reports on a Butacene® based composite propellant with high burning rate. The effect of replacing HTPB with Butacene® on the physical, mechanical and ballistic properties, and sensitivity towards impact and friction, has been studied. The ballistic properties were evaluated as burning rates at various pressures (7-11 MPa), pressure exponents, ignition temperatures etc. As expected, a remarkable enhancement in burning rate at low pressures was observed with increasing percentage of Butacene®. Comparatively lower n-values were observed for compositions containing Butacene® than for HTPB based propellants. The sensitivity of Butacene® based compositions, in terms of impact and friction, was found to be increased with an increasing percentage of Butacene®.