Extinguishing and Combustion Characteristics of Electrically Controllable Solid Propellants Under Elevated Pressures

Abstract

An experimental study was conducted on electrically controllable solid propellants (ECSPs) created using a polyethylene oxide polymer binder, lithium perchlorate, and multiwalled carbon nanotubes. The propellants decompose and ignite shortly after the application of a voltage potential and extinguish when the voltage is removed under atmospheric conditions. The ignition delay as a function of the applied voltage magnitude was determined for a range of ECSP compositions. Pressurized experiments were conducted in an optically accessible strand burner to characterize the burning properties of the ECSPs as a function of pressure and electrical power. Additional experiments were conducted at elevated pressures where the voltage potential was removed and reapplied to extinguish and reignite the propellant and determine the self-extinction limits of the ECSPs. The results demonstrate that small compositional changes can drastically impact the ability to extinguish the ECSPs at elevated pressures.