Formation of Spherical Energetic Composites By Crystallization

Compounding of 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane (RDX) with ammonium perchlorate (AP) has the advantages of high energy and reduced smoke. However, a short coming of lower burning rate exacerbates the performance of solid rocket motors. Therefore, the formation of composites whose physical distance between components was considerably reduced is very useful because it improves inter-particle mass transfer so that a relatively high decomposition rate of AP could be achieved. In the present work, the crystallization/agglomeration process was introduced for preparation of the spherical Al/RDX/AP energetic composites. Fine RDX and AP particles were obtained by drowning-out and agglomeration was induced by adding a bridging liquid into a solution. Experimental results show that the amount of a bridging liquid, agitation rate, and agitation time have great impacts on the formation of Al/RDX/AP composites. As the amount of bridging liquid increases, the Al/RDX/AP composites become larger. The agitation rate is responsible for the efficiency on a shear force promoting agglomeration between particles leading to a change in the size of Al/RDX/AP composites. Moreover, a sufficient agitation time seems to influence the capillary suction induced by squeezing and followed by compression.