US EPA

8154179 

Journal Article 

Effect of catalysts on the reactivity of ammonium perchlorate-sodium nitrate-aluminum-GAP composite solid propellant 

Nakamura, H; Yoshihira, K; Akiyoshi, M; Hara, Y 

2000 

61 

4 

143-149 

English 

The thermal reaction and the combustion of an ammonium perchlorate(AP)-sodium nitrate(SN)-aluminum(Al)-GAP-catalyst solid propellant were studied by a thermal analysis, combustion experiments and analyses of the reaction residue in order to clarify the catalytic effect of iron oxide, copper oxide and cobalt oxide catalysts. The results obtained are as follows. Iron oxide, which has a catalytic effect on ammonium perchlorate and a AP-Al-GAP solid propellant decomposition, had no effect on the thermal reaction of the mixture of ammonium perchlorate with sodium nitrate and the AP-SN-Al-GAP solid propellant. Cobalt oxide and copper oxide had a catalytic effect on the low temperature decomposition of ammonium perchlorate in the mixture of ammonium perchlorate and sodium nitrate at atmospheric pressure, but had no effect on the thermal reaction of the AP-SN-Al-GAP solid propellant under pressurized conditions. With regard to the combustion, iron oxide had no catalytic effect on the AP-SN-Al-GAP composite solid propellant. The formation of sodium perchlorate, which is more stable compared to ammonium perchlorate, is one of the reason for this phenomenon. The addition of a copper oxide catalyst increased the burning rate by 5 to approximately 15% compared to that without a catalyst, but cobalt oxide showed no catalytic effect on a sodium nitrate containing propellant combustion under pressurized conditions.