SAFE\ECONOMICAL PROCESSESS FOR ROCKET AND GUN PROPELLANT MANUFACTURE

GENERAL TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS HAS MADE DEVELOPMENTS AND FILED PATENTS IN THE FIELD OF CHEMICAL PROCESSING WHICH MAKE POSSIBLE LOW SHEAR, LOW FRICTION, TIME-INSENSITIVE BLENDING AND MIXING OF CHEMICALLY REACTIVE AND PHYSICALLY INTERACTIVE MATERIALS. THIS TECHNOLOGY OFFERS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO THE UNITED STATES NAVY TO IMPROVE UPON THE SAFETY AND ECONOMICS OF MANUFACTURE OF HIGHLY ENERGETIC PROPELLANTS. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROPOSAL ARE TO DEMONONSTRATE THE TECHNICAL MERIT OF APPLICATION OF THE GTA PROCESSES TO THE MANUFACTURE OF PROPELLANTS AND TO INVESTIGATE THE VARIOUS SAFETY AND COST IMPROVEMENTS POSSIBLE. GTA PROPOSES TO USE ITS PROPRIETARY MIXING AND BLENDING PROCESS TO PREPARE INERT SAMPLE COMPOSITES WHICH WOULD COMBINE PROPELLANT BINDER MATERIALS WITH VERY FINE GLASS BEADS USED AS SIMULANTS FOR ENERGETIC COMPONENTS. THE BINDER MATERIALS TO BE CHOSEN WOULD EMPHASIZE CHARACTERISTICS WHICH TEST THE LIMITS OF CURRENT ENERGETICS PROCESSING METHODS. GTA DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PROCESSING OF HIGHLY ENERGETIC SYSTEMS CAN LEAD TO SAFETY AND COST BENEFITS BY REDUCING DEPENDENCE UPON CURRENT HIGH SHEAR BATCH MIXING AND BLENDING FACILITIES. MAJOR APPLICATIONS WOULD BE FOR SOLVENTLESS CONTINUOUS PROCESSING OF LARGE VOLUME SYSTEMS AND FOR PRODUCTION OF LOWERED VULNERABILITY GUN PROPELLANTS BASED UPON HIGH PERFORMANCE BINDER SYSTEMS.