Thermal decomposition kinetics of GAP ETPE/RDX-based solid propellant

We performed a kinetic study applying model fitting and the iso-conversional method to investigate the thermal decomposition behaviors of GAP ETPE/RDX-based solid propellant (ETPE propellant). The ETPE propellant consists of GAP ETPE and RDX was processed by an extrusion method. The surfaces of the ETPE propellant exhibited heterogeneous surface structure with noticeable RDX particles. The DSC results showed that the GAP ETPE played a role in lowering the thermal decomposition temperature of the ETPE propellant. The TGA results demonstrated that the decomposition process of the ETPE propellant progressed in one stage in the temperature range of 150–250 °C. From the kinetic analysis, with the GAP ETPE in the ETPE propellant, the activation energy was maintained up to α < 0.2 at 170 kJ/mol, preventing evaporation of liquid RDX.

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► GAP ETPEs/RDX based solid propellant (ETPE propellant) was prepared by extrusion.
► Thermal decomposition study of ETPE propellant was performed with iso-conversional method.
► The iso-conversional method accurately predicted the complexities of the ETPE propellant decomposition.