Sensitivities of azide polymer propellants in fast cook-off, card gap and bullet impact tests

Abstract Sensitivities of GAP propellants and BAMO/NMMO propellants were evaluated. The fast cook-off test, card gap test and bullet impact test were employed to characterize the propellant samples. All the samples tested here showed no reaction other than burning. In the fast cook-off test, ignition time was dependent on the confinement and propellant composition. In the card gap test, the double base propellant was found to have a higher sensitivity than AP-based composite propellant. In the bullet impact test, the case material played an important role in the sensitivity. The case made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) was effective in mitigating the sensitivity to the bullet impact. As a whole, AN-based composite propellants had relatively lower sensitivity.