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ASSIGNMENT:
INTRODUCTION
AND HISTORY OF
SOLID PROPELLANTS

Submitted to: Mam Kainat Nawaz Jutt

Submitted by:Ali Raza (Reg no:140101097)

Batch: Aerospace 13 B
[COMPANY NAME] | [Company address]

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to thank Allah and appreciate sole hearted dedication

of our instructor Dr. Ihtezaz Qamar toward our grooming without
whom I would not be able to complete this work and also Ms.
Kainat Nawaz Jutt to encourage and guide us in spite of his busy
schedule.

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Solid propellant

In ballistics and pyrotechnics, a propellant is a generic name for chemicals used for propelling

projectiles from guns and other firearms.

Propellants are usually made from low explosive materials, but may include high explosive

chemical ingredients that are diluted and burned in a controlled way (deflagration) rather than

detonation. The controlled burning of the propellant composition usually produces thrust by gas

pressure and can accelerate a projectile, rocket, or other vehicle. In this sense, common or well

known as propellants include, for firearms, artillery and solid propellant rockets

Gun propellants

Gun propellants includes following categories:

 Gunpowder (black powder)

Based on a 9th-century Taoist text, the invention of gunpowder by Chinese alchemists

was likely an accidental byproduct from experiments seeking to create elixir of life.

This experimental medicine origin of gunpowder is reflected in its Chinese name

huoyao, which means “fire potion”. The first military applications of gunpowder were

developed around 1000 CE. The earliest chemical formula for gunpowder appeared in

the 11th century Song dynasty text, Wujing Zongyao, however gunpowder had already

been used for fire arrows since at least the 10th century.

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  Nitrocellulose-based powders
Henri Braconnot discovered in 1832 that nitric acid, when combined with starch or wood

fibers, would produce a lightweight combustible explosive material, which he named

xyloïdine. A few years later in 1838, another French chemist, Théophile-Jules Pelouze

(teacher of Ascanio Sobrero and Alfred Nobel), treated paper and cardboard in the same

way. Jean-Baptiste Dumas obtained a similar material, which he called nitramidine.[5]

These substances were highly unstable and were not practical explosives.

However, around 1846 Christian Friedrich Schönbein, a German-Swiss chemist,

discovered a more practical solution

 Cordite

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 A United Kingdom government committee, known as the "Explosives Committee", chaired

by Sir Frederick Abel, monitored foreign developments in explosives and obtained samples

of Poudre B and Ballistite

Abel, Sir James Dewar and W Kellner, who was also on the committee, developed and

jointly patented (Nos 5,614 and 11,664 in the names of Abel and Dewar) in 1889 a new

ballistite-like propellant consisting of 58% nitroglycerine, by weight, 37% guncotton

(nitrocellulose) and 5% petroleum jelly. Using acetone as a solvent, it was extruded as

spaghetti-like rods initially called "cord powder" or "the Committee's modification of

Ballistite", but this was swiftly abbreviated to "Cordite".

 Ballistite

The "Explosives Committee" and chaired by Sir Frederick Abel, monitored foreign

developments in explosives. Abel and Sir James Dewar, who was also on the

committee, jointly patented a modified form of ballistite in 1889. This consisted of

58% nitroglycerin by weight, 37% guncotton and 5% petroleum jelly. Using acetone as

a solvent, it was extruded as spaghetti-like rods initially called "cord powder" or "the

committee's modification of ballistite", but this was soon abbreviated to cordite

 Smokeless powders

Nitroglycerine was synthesized by the Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero in 1847.It was

subsequently developed and manufactured by Alfred Nobel as an industrial explosive,

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 but even then it was unsuitable as a propellant: despite its energetic and smokeless

qualities, it detonates instead of deflagrating smoothly, making it more liable to shatter

a gun, rather than propel a projectile out of it. Nitroglycerine is also highly sensitive,

making it unfit to be carried in battlefield conditions.

A major step forward was the invention of guncotton, a nitrocellulose-based material,

by German chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein in 1846. He promoted its use as a

blasting explosive and sold manufacturing rights to the Austrian Empire.

Composite propellants
Introduction: Composite propellants made from a solid oxidizer such as ammonium
perchlorate or ammonium nitrate, a rubber such as HTPB, or PBAN (may be replaced by
energetic polymers such as polyglycidyl nitrate or polyvinyl nitrate for extra energy) ,
optional high explosive fuels (again, for extra energy) such as RDX or nitroglycerin, and
usually a powdered metal fuel such as aluminum.
Some amateur propellants use potassium nitrate, combined with sugar, epoxy, or other fuels /
binder compounds.
Potassium perchlorate has been used as an oxidizer, paired with asphalt, epoxy, and other
binders.
Propellants that explode in operation are of little practical use currently, although there have been
experiments with Pulse Detonation Engines.

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 History: Modern cast able composite solid rocket motors were invented by the American

aerospace engineer Jack Parsons at Caltech in 1942 when he replaced double base propellant with

roofing asphalt and potassium perchlorate. This made possible slow-burning rocket motors of

adequate size and with sufficient shelf-life for jet-assisted take off applications. Charles Bartley,

employed at JPL (Caltech), substituted curable synthetic rubber for the gooey asphalt, creating a

flexible but geometrically stable load-bearing propellant grain that bonded securely to the motor

casing. This made possible much larger solid rocket motors. Atlantic Research Corporation

significantly boosted composite propellant Isp in 1954 by increasing the amount of powdered

aluminium in the propellant to as much as 20%.

Composition

There are four different types of solid propellant compositions:

Single Based Propellant: A single based propellant has nitrocellulose as its chief
explosives ingredient. Stabilizers and other additives are used to control the chemical
stability and enhance the propellant’s properties.
Double Based Propellant: Double based propellants consist of nitrocellulose with
nitroglycerin or other liquid organic nitrate explosives added. Stabilizers and other
additives are used also. Nitroglycerin reduces smoke and increases the energy output.
Double based propellants are used in small arms, cannons, mortars and rockets.

Triple Based Propellant

Triple based propellants consist of nitrocellulose, nitroquanidine, nitroglycerin or other
liquid organic nitrate explosives. Triple based propellants are used in cannons.
Composite
Composites contain no nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, nitroquanidine or any other organic
nitrate. Composites usually consist of a fuel such as metallic aluminum, a binder such as

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 synthetic rubber, and an oxidizer such as ammonium perchlorate. Composite propellants
are used in large rocket motors.

Liquid propellant

Common propellant combinations used for liquid propellant rockets include:

Red fuming nitric acid (RFNA) and kerosene or RP-1

RFNA and Unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine (UDMH)
Dinitrogen tetroxide and UDMH, MMH and/or hydrazine
Liquid oxygen and kerosene or RP-1
Liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen
Liquid oxygen and ethanol
Hydrogen peroxide and alcohol or RP-1
Chlorine pentafluoride and hydrazine

Common monopropellant used for liquid rocket engines include:

Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrazine
Red fuming nitric acid (RFNA)

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