Enhancing Composite Solid Propellant Burning Rates with Potassium Doped Ammonium Perchlorate—Part 2

Abstract

This paper reports the development of a nonaluminized composite solid-propellant formulation with high burning rates. To achieve high burning rates, potassium (described in the literature as an impurity) has been doped into ammonium perchlorate. It is seen that beyond a potassium content of 0.19% the increase in the burning rates of a composite propellant is not significant. A high-burn-rate pressure index at high pressures and the dual slope has been observed with the potassium doped ammonium perchlorate in a composite solid propellant even with the use of only fine sized ammonium perchlorate particles. These features have been explained through surface scanning electron microscope pictures of quenched propellant samples.