Study of combustion characteristics of ammonium dinitramide/polycaprolactone propellants

This paper is devoted to the investigation of main characteristics and mechanism of combustion of the composite solid-rocket pseudopropellant based on ammonium dinitramide and polycaprolactone. Experimental data on the dependence of the burning rate on pressure in the pressure range of 4-8 MPa for ammonium dinitramide/polycaprolactone propellant with different additives and with polycaprolactone of different molecular weight are presented in the paper. The dependence of propellant burning rate on particle size of oxidizer and initial temperature has been also investigated. Composition of the combustion products of the propellant at pressures of 4 MPa using two different systems of sampling has been determined. The temperature profile in the combustion wave of some propellants has been obtained with aid of thin flat thermocouples. Temperature of the final combustion products of the propellant without additive and for some propellants with additive has been determined by a thermocouple method. Also the influence of a CuO catalyst on temperature profile has been investigated. Flame structure of ammonium dinitramide/polycaprolactone propellant at 0.1 MPa has been studied. Data obtained elucidating combustion mechanism and place of action of catalyst are discussed.