The influence of the type and size of the reactor and the influence of the heating interruption during curing on the solid composite propellant properties

Abstract

The solid composite propellant is a viscoelastic material that retains the treatment received during its all-useful life. As a result, its manufacturing conditions induce differences in its final mechanical properties. The present study aims to evaluate the influence of the type and size of the reactor and the effects of the heating interruption during curing on the final mechanical properties of the propellant. Thus, four production processes with identical propellant formulations were performed in four different reactors. One of them was vertical, while the others were horizontal reactors. The heating interruption during curing was performed in 10 samples, at different moments of the curing process and with different duration. The study determines that vertical reactors tend to produce propellants less rigid than those produced in the horizontal type. In addition, the bigger the reactor size, the less rigid the propellant becomes. Finally, the heating interruptions at the beginning of the curing process tend to be insignificant. However, when they occur in an advanced stage of the curing process, they tend to hinder the curing progress, being more significant for interruptions of medium duration.