Plasticizer migration in nitrocellulose-based propellants

Abstract An “environmentally-friendly” technique for determining plasticizer concentration profiles in propellant sheets has been developed. The method was developed in response to a need for a quick, accurate means to study plasticizer migration in experimental gun propellents. Evidence of rapid migration between laminated sheets of nitrocellulose-based propellant containing different amounts of two nitrate ester plasticizers was obtained. An estimate of the diffusion coefficients for one of these plasticizers was also obtained.