Influence of processing solvents on decomposition of nitrocellulose in smokeless powders studied by heat flow calorimetry

The influence of processing solvents (water, diethyl ether and ethyl alcohol) on thermal stability of nitrocellulose in smokeless powders was investigated by heat flow calorimetry. Powders subjected to different methods of volatiles removing were used for measurements. The dependence of accumulated heat on temperature was applied for analysis. The results indicate that residual water destabilizes studied powders most of all. Experiments proved that thermal effects during the first step were controlled by reactions of diphenylamine with nitrocellulose decomposition products. The relation between the heat generation constant and the diphenylamine concentration was determined. The analysis of experimental data shows that the stabilizing effect of diphenylamine can be observed only at low extent of nitrocellulose conversion.