TKX‐50 (Dihydroxylammonium 5,5’‐bistetrazolate‐1,1’‐dioxide) and ABTOX (Diammonium salt of 5,5’‐bistetrazole‐1,1′‐diolate) being simple and cheap to prepare from commonly available chemicals, are emerging as promising energetic materials along with the advantages like required thermal insensitivity, low toxicity and safe handling. In order to synthesize such powerful materials with utmost care, it is essential to know about the precursors and reaction intermediates involved. Therefore, the detailed thermal analyses of various precursors such as glyoxime (I), dichloroglyoxime (II), diazidoglyoxime (III) and bistetrazoledihydroxide (IV) and final products viz., TKX‐50 (V) and ABTOX (VI) were carried out using differential scanning calorimetric and thermal gravimetric analysis experiments. The relative trend of band gap values calculated from the difference of HOMO and LUMO is well correlated with the decomposition temperatures (Tmax) values at a heating rate of 10 °C min−1 indicating the relative thermal stability of I–VI. The impact and friction sensitivity of ABTOX and TKX‐50 indicated that these compounds are safer than the currently known powerful explosives such as CL‐20. The calculated density impulse of TKX‐50 in rocket propellant formulations was found to be 499 g m−2 s−1 which is similar as that of HMX (494 g m−2 s−1). The theoretical performance prediction of TKX‐50 as the potential ingredient in gun propellant formulations indicated that the TKX‐50 could yield higher force constant (1471 J K−1) in comparison to currently known explosive such as RDX (1412 J K−1).

This paper gives the results of an experimental study on nitramine extruded double-base (EDB) fonnulationscontaining up to 25 percent RDXin low and high calorimetric value double-base(DB) propellants. The effect of ballistic modifiers on the burn rate and pressure exponent ( 11) of promising fonnulations has also been investigated. The data generated on various parameters reveal that ( i) nitraniine EDB propellants exhibit relatively superior thennal stability,' (ii) tensile strength and percentage elongation are drastically altered if RDX concentration exceeds 15 per cent, (iii) 11 is lowered significantly in the presence of ballistic modifiers, (iv) characteristic velocity (C*) values are higher to that for the control tonnulation, and ( v) temperature sensitivity of burn rate is on the lower side (0,20 -0.25 % / °C as against 0.40 % / °C) in the presence of ballistic modifiers.shown remarkable improvement in burn rate and '1 values. Keeping in view the above facts and also in the absence of adequate data on nitramine extruded double-base (EDB) propellants, it was considered of interest to formulate and process a set of nitramine EDB propellants incorporating RDX as an energetic. material with and without ballistic modifiers and to study sensitivity, burning behaviour, chemical, thennal and mechanical properties and ballistic performance of a few promising formulations, This paper reports the results on low and high calorimetric value (cal val) nitramine EDB propellants.

No abstract

No abstract