Molecular Origin of the Influence of the Temperature on the Loss Factor of a Solid Propellant. Issue 4 (25th March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Azoug, Aurélie; Nevière, Robert; Constantinescu, Andrei
• Is Part Of: Propellants, explosives, pyrotechnics. Volume 40:Issue 4(2015:Aug.)
• Page Start: 469
• Page End: 478
• Publication Date: 2015-03-25
• Subjects: Propellants -- Periodicals; Explosives -- Periodicals; 662.2
• DOI: 10.1002/prep.201400060
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0721-3115

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>This study focuses on the viscoelastic behavior of an industrial hydroxyl‐terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) based solid propellant. The analysis of the loss factor as function of temperature enables the investigation of the molecular mechanisms participating in the nonlinear viscoelastic behavior. A design of experiments determines the influences of the filler fraction, of the NCO/OH ratio, of the plasticizer content, and of the presence or absence of filler‐binder bonding agents. For all the tested materials, the loss factor as function of temperature exhibits two distinct peaks when measured by Dynamic Mechanical Analysis. Exponentially modified Gaussian distributions are applied on each peak to characterize the behavior. While the first peak is commonly associated with the rubber‐glass transition of the material, the second peak has not been clearly associated with a molecular mechanism. This study shows that the second peak of the loss factor in HTPB‐based solid propellants originates from the flow of free polymer chains in the polymer network with a reptation mechanism. The sol polymer fraction controls the area of the second peak, whereas its temperature at the maximum corresponds to an activation temperature determined by the molar masses of the sol polymer. Finally, when the propellant is stretched, a decrease in area and an increase in the temperature of the peak show that the reptation of the sol polymer chains is constrained by the network.</p> </abstract>