Rheological Properties of Modified Nitromethane Gel Propellants

摘要

Gel propellants provide rocket propulsion systems of high specific impulse, low sensitivity and low vulnerability in combination with the capability to control the thrust, i.e., variation of thrust and thrust cut off. The characterization of the rheological properties is essential for the development of gel propellant formulations and for the design of an applicable propulsion system. In this contribution, the rheological properties of a gel propellant consisting of nitromethane as fuel and nanoparticles of silicon dioxide and a rheological additive as gelling agent was examined. The experiments were conducted under steady state shear flow. The modified nitromethane/silicon dioxide/additive gels exhibit non-Newtonian flow behavior over the whole concentration range examined.