Nanoinfusion Technology for Advanced Gun Propellants

It has been demonstrated on a small scale that nanoparticles have the potential to improve the performance of high-energy density gun propellants. Nanomaterials such as Al and B have been integrated into gun propellants resulting in increased burning rates, burn-rate tailorability, and efficiencies. The combined effect of these improvements would result in enhanced system-level performance in a variety of weapon systems. However, significant technical challenges exist with implementing nanoparticle technology in polymer composites. Particle agglomeration during mixing, particle size uniformity, process scalability, cost, safety issues related to free handling of loose nanoparticles, and particle stability (oxidation resistance) all offer unique difficulties. Scaling up the infrastructure required for proper handling and processing of nanoparticle propellants can be prohibitively expensive owing to the safety issues presented by loose nanoparticles, and the afore-mentioned processing issues are also magnified at larger scale. A solution that will offer processing techniques addressing these challenges is desired. The proposed technology makes use of a patented technique that yields nanoparticles typically 5"10 nm in size. It has been demonstrated to overcome the processing issues related to agglomeration and mixing, giving a monodisperse, high purity, size-similar, polymeric nanocomposite that will be suitable for gun propellant applications.