Thermal decomposition of RDX/NC gun-propellants: A kinetic study

• Solid phase thermal decomposition of gun propellants is a scientific challenge. • It is studied by thermal analysis up to 300 °C. • A new method is applied to model decomposition under nitrogen. • Comparison with experiments is good using a three steps model. Gun propellants are a family of energetic materials designed to produce a high amount of gases during a short period of time. Their accidental ignition can lead to severe accidents that caused many casualties in the past. To overcome this problem, insensitive gun propellants have been developed. However, this loss of sensitivity can lead to ignition issues in operational use. Thermal decomposition of the solid phase is a key step in the ignition process and remains challenging. This paper presents the thermal decomposition of three LOVA gun propellants based on RDX and nitrocellulose. Decomposition is studied by ThermoGravimetric Analysis (TGA) between 30 and 300 °C under nitrogen atmosphere. A kinetic analysis method, previously developed, has been applied to TGA results. Doing so, global kinetic parameters are determined to obtain a solid phase decomposition law. Models using this law provide mass losses in good agreement with TGA results.