Erosivity and Performance of Nitrogen-Rich Propellants

Five propellant formulations were test fired both in a vented vessel and a closed vessel. Two formulations contained 35% weight of nitrogen-rich materials. The erosion by weight of the propellants ranged from 0.53g to 1.31g after two consecutive test firings of a given propellant. The addition of nitrogen-rich materials resulted in reduced erosion. Scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed nitrogen in the erosion pieces for one of the reference propellants (SB) and the two nitrogen-rich propellants. The two hottest propellants cause melting of the erosion pieces. The presence of nitrogen-rich materials has a tremendous impact on the burning rates with the burning rate increase at 100MPa reaching up to 2.4times that of the formulation used as the base for the nitrogen-rich propellants.