Alternative method of determination of thermo-physical properties of energetic materials Available to Purchase

The paper presents alternative, safe and cost-effective method of determination of thermophysical properties of selected solid rocket propellants. The homogeneous propellant PAC with density 1.58 g·cm⁻³ and heterogeneous propellant H2 with density 1.77 g·cm⁻³ were tested with the use of Decagon Devices KD2 Pro portable analyzer. The device uses the transient line heat source method. Temperature characteristics of thermal conductivity λ, thermal diffusivity a and specific heat c_p were obtained in the temperature range from -20 °C to 80 °C. The own estimation procedure based on complete analytical solution of transient heat-line source method was used and after verification by the DSC method proved to be more accurate compared to the algorithm implemented in the KD2 Pro device. The experimental conditions are presented with special attention given to sample preparation and correct course of the experiment. The own inverse procedure of determining the thermos-physical properties is described. The results of thermal analysis for both tested propellant samples with the use of estimation procedure implemented in the KD2 Pro as well as the own procedure are presented. The analysis is the first in Poland comprehensive approach to investigating the thermal and mechanical properties of solid rocket propellants and allows a more reliable definition of the temperature range of their use.