A novel approach for investigation of chemical aging in composite propellants through laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)

Abstract

Many methods have been developed in recent years for the analysis and evaluation of energetic materials. This work introduces a novel approach for the analysis and aging of solid composite propellants by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The results of the plasma spectrum were used to investigate the behavior of the aged samples. For this purpose, CN and AlO molecular bands of different samples were compared with each other. The samples were examined under inert argon atmosphere to study LIBS signal improvement. Some absent lines such as C and C2 swan bands were detected and reduction of air impact was carried out. Line intensity ratios of samples were changed for all samples during their aging. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) method was used to compare them with the output of LIBS’s technique. The results of LIBS and DSC methods show a similar trend in changing mechanical and thermal properties.