Effect of hydrophobicity of FOX-7 particles on rheological properties of slurry and compressive strength of PBX

摘要

The hydrophobicity of particles has significant impact on the process performance and mechanical characteristics of many kinds of particle-filled polymer composites. Therefore the hydrophobicity of energetic particles will have great effect not only on the rheological properties and process performance of slurry but also on the final qualities of PBX products. In this study, the rheological properties of slurry and compressive strength of PBX filled with pristine FOX-7 particles and particles after hydrophobic treatment with he.xa-decyltrimethoxysilane (HDS) were compared. The static contact angle of FOX-7 particles with HTPB prepolymer and water increased significantly after hydrophobic treatment. As a result, the increase of loss factor indicated that the slurry filled with hydrophobic FOX-7 particles provided a better leveling performance. It was verified that the wettability of particle surface is one of the key factor that determined density and compressive strength of PBX products. Furthermore, the mixture of pristine FOX-7 particles and hydrophobic particles showed the middle status of wettability. Herein it might be considered as a promising method to regulate rheological properties of PBX slurry and further to ameliorate the leveling performance.