Evaluation of strontium ferrite (SrFe12O19) in ammonium perchlorate-based composite propellant formulations

Abstract

In the present work, various propellant compositions were prepared by incorporating strontium ferrite (SrFe12O19) in an ammonium perchlorate (AP), aluminium powder and hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) based standard composite propellant. The compositions were then studied by assessing the effect of the SrFe12O19 content on the propellant slurry viscosity, and the mechanical and ballistic properties. The results showed that as the percentage of SrFe12O19 in the propellant was increased, the end of mix (EOM) slurry viscosity, tensile strength and E-modulus increased, while the elongation decreased. The ballistic properties data revealed that the burning rate of the propellant composition containing 1.0% SrFe12O19 was enhanced by around 15% (at 6.86 MPa) compared to the standard composition burning rate.