Micro-nanoarchitectonic of aluminum-hydrogel propellant with static stability and dynamic rheology

The aluminum-water system is a promising propellant due to high energy and low signal characteristics, and the gel form is easier to store and utilize. In this work, hydrogels of water and aluminum particles were prepared using the low-molecular-weight gellant agarose. The various physical properties of gel systems, including the water loss rate, phase transition temperature, and centrifugal stability at different gellant and aluminum contents, were examined. Rheological properties were assessed through shear thinning tests, thixotropy tests, strain sweep analysis, and frequency sweep experiments. The microstructure of the gel was obtained through scanning electron microscopy images. The results show that the aluminum-hydrogel network structure is composed of micron-scale aluminum and agarose nanosheets, and the unique micro-nanostructure endows the gel with excellent mechanical strength and thermal stability, which improve with increasing gellant and aluminum contents. Notably, the gel with 2% agarose and 20% aluminum had the best performance; the storage modulus reached 90647 Pa, which was within the linear viscoelastic region, and the maximum withstand pressure was 111.2 kPa, which was 118.8% greater than that of the pure hydrogel. Additionally, the gel demonstrates remarkable shear thinning behavior and can undergo gel-sol transformation upon shearing or heating to exceeding 114 °C.