SEM/EDX and FTIR/ATR Behavior of Ammonium Perchlorate Under Accelerated Aging in a New Solid Rocket Motor Fuel Composition with Superior Explosive and Mechanical Performance

The oxidation potential of perchlorates is high, which makes this material suitable for fuels with high specific impulse. Perchlorates are characterized by a ClO4- moiety/anion in their molecular structure and are crystalline materials used in the formation of solid fuels. Ammonium perchlorate (AP) particle size and shape influence the manufacturing process of fuels and their burning rate. The physical and chemical processes that can occur in the natural degradation process of composite fuels are related to molecular reactions and diffusion phenomena governed by kinetic processes and can be accelerated by increasing the temperature.

The paper presents studies carried out by scanning electron microscopy and infrared spectrometry on the behavior of ammonium perchlorate in the new composite material of solid rocket motor fuel under the effect of high temperature, in the range of 65-85^οC, at regular time intervals. The self-initiation temperature was also determined, with a temperature rise rate controlled at 5ºC/minute.

It is very likely that these accelerated aging studies will show the changes that occur in the stability, sensitivity, mechanical and functional properties of fuels during their lifetime.