HAN (Hydroxylammonium Nitrate)-Based Liquid Gun Propellants: Physical Properties

摘要

Mixtures of hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN), water, and the nitrate salt of an aliphatic amine (AAN), are being actively considered as propellants for use in a liquid propellant gun. A number of such AAN salts have been considered for this application; the preferred one is triethanolammonium nitrate (TEAN), which is used in propellants LGP 1845 and 1846, the current prime candidates for the gun now under development. The physical properties of the propellants and of their components must fall within acceptable ranges for practical applications. The low temperature properties of LGP 1845 and 1846and of HAN-water and TEAN-water mixtures have been investigated. The results for LGP 1845 and 1846 show only transitions from homogeneous liquid to homogeneous glass at -90C and -100C, respectively, with no indication of crystallization or component separation over wide concentration ranges. Results for HAN-water and TEAN-water mixtures are complex; crystallization, phase separation, and glass transitions are seen.