Relative Erosivity of Nitramine, Triple-Base, and Double-Base Propellants

Abstract

A series of nitramine, triple-base, and double-base propellants in lots with flame temperatures of 2,700, 3,000 and 3,300K were tested for relative erosivity in vented chambers at BRL, Princeton University and the Large Caliber Weapons Systems Laboratory (LCWSL). During initial testing, the BRL results suggested that the nitramine propellants were no more erosive then their double- or triple-base counterparts. The Princeton experiments concluded the opposite. The LCWSL results suggested the 2,700K nitramine was more erosive than other 2, 700K propellants, but the higher-flame temperature nitramines seemed no more erosive. One weakness in the BRL tests was the small mass losses measured with the 2,700K propellants which could have masked differences among these propellants. To rectify this, the erosivity of the nine propellants was measured with a smaller diameter nozzle to increase mass loss per round. The results with the smaller diameter nozzle confirmed that the nitramines were no more erosive than the other propellants with the same flame temperatures.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1981
Accession Number
ADA104064

Entities

People

  • B. D. Bensinger
  • I. C. Stobie
  • J. Richard Ward
  • R. P. Kaste

Organizations

  • Ballistic Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artillery
  • Burning Rate
  • Combustion
  • Diameters
  • Double Base Propellants
  • Engineering
  • Gun Barrels
  • Guns
  • Heat Transfer
  • Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Munitions
  • Nitramines
  • Projectiles
  • Propellants
  • Surface Temperature
  • Triple Base Propellants

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Combustion science or combustion engineering.
  • ballistics.