Microscopic and Microchemical Study of Aged Solid Propellant Grains.

摘要

The effort on sample acquisition and preparation continued and the analytical phase was well underway. The analytical studies consisted of microscopic studies on selected samples from model grains in accelerated aging and of chemical analyses on a degraded propellant. The first data obtained from the model grains exceeded expectations. These model grains were made to determine if the microscopic reaction sites could be artificially produced in propellant formulations similar to those in which the microscopic reaction sites were discovered. Small grains were cast and put in storage at various temperatures. When the models were sampled, reaction sites of two basic types were observed in various stages of development. Thus another microscopic procedure is available for interpreting chemical changes during grain aging. Thin-layer chromatography of ethylene dichloride soluble fractions from degraded propellant showed that at least three different materials are present. (Author)