Solid Ramjet Fuel Containing In-Situ Grown Aluminum Nanoparticles

This proposal addresses the Navy’s need for enhanced performance solid rocket motors. The proposed solution is a metallized version of hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) R45M for use as a propellant binder suitable for Navy missile systems. This Phase II.5 SBIR project will deliver scaled up quantities of the propellant binder to the Navy and will provide technical assistance in support of an effort at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) China Lake to produce and test a full-scale solid rocket motor using the metallized HTPB binder and flight-weight motor hardware. The metallized HTPB binder is produced using Helicon’s “in situ” synthesis process. This patented process begins with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) HTPB R45M and introduces elemental aluminum within the HTPB polymer at a molecular level. The result is a metallized HTPB binder that enhances the performance of rocket propellants because it has a higher energy density and burns with a much hotter temperature than conventional HTPB.