Additive manufacturing and combustion performance of CL-20 composites

The 3D printing technology has evolved impressively over the last decade in its ability to fabricate structures with complex architectures at the micro- and macroscale. 3D printing of high explosive would reduce the unnecessary process for excessive handling, post-processing, and stockpiling confers benefits to safety, cost, waste, and flexibility. To truly take advantage of direct writing technology, materials and inks are allowed for fast and reliable deposition. Herein, 3D printable ink based on CL-20/HTPB was designed and printed. The explosive ink exhibited high performance, validating the potential of fully 3D printed structures with high performance of combustion. The method can print complex geometries with well-defined dimensions. To achieve high-quality printing with continuous ink, the uniformities were further optimized by tuning the concentrations of the CL-20, and the binder rate to curing agent. With the aid of 3D printing, various novel applications and functionalities became accessible, which is beyond the limits of conventional charge process (press loading and casting curing). This approach makes printing of diverse patterns possible, which open new avenues to fabricate gradient structure explosive and propellant with tunable safe combustion and detonation properties.