Assessment of the Shelf Life of Composite Solid Propellants in Air and Nitrogen Atmospheres through Thermal Ageing

Abstract

This work introduces dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) as an efficient method for the assessment of the shelf life of solid composite solid propellants in air and nitrogen atmospheres. The samples were aged at three temperatures 323.15, 333.15, and 343.15 K for 60, 120, and 180 days. The two different methods of Arrhenius and Berthelot were used to compare the effects of air and nitrogen atmospheres on the ageing of composite solid propellants. Damping (Tan δ) of composite solid propellants was used to determine the shelf life of the samples based on the loss of half of the physical property Tan δ (50% drop in damping). For the air atmosphere, the calculated activation energy for the degradation reactions of the samples was 86.26 kJ·mol–1. Both models, Arrhenius and Berthelot, confirmed that the shelf lives of the samples under the nitrogen atmosphere are more than four times those in an air atmosphere.