Effects of Aluminum on the Thermal Behavior and Combustion of Ammonium Dinitramide at Elevated Pressure

ABSTRACT Ammonium dinitramide (ADN) represents a key oxidizer in the development of advanced green energetic materials, owing to its halogen‐free composition. To evaluate the influence of fine micro‐sized aluminum (Al) powder on ADN at elevated pressure, this work systematically characterized the thermal behavior of ADN/Al via high‐pressure differential scanning calorimetry. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were derived from non‐isothermal kinetic analysis, enabling the calculation of the material's adiabatic induction period and thermal explosion delay time, as well as the determination of its decomposition reaction model. Ignition and combustion behaviors were characterized using a laser ignition test system at 1.0 MPa. The results show that 10 wt% Al catalyzed the thermal decomposition of ADN, lowering its self‐accelerating decomposition temperature by 16.5% and reducing the activation energy by 9.7%, without altering its reaction model of Avrami‐Erofeev ( n = 3). Al markedly decreased the thermal safety of ADN, depressing the supercritical ambient temperature range and reducing the adiabatic induction temperatures T D 8 and T D 24 by 13.3% and 16.3%, respectively. The addition of Al contributes markedly to the enhanced ignition and combustion of ADN, resulting in a 77.5% shorter ignition delay, a 12.6% higher burning rate, a 65.1% greater maximum pressure rise, and an 88.0% faster pressurization rate. These results demonstrate that fine micro‐sized Al powder significantly enhances the decomposition reactivity, combustion performance, and modifies the thermal safety profile of ADN at elevated pressure, providing critical insights for the design of advanced ADN‐based propellants.