Thermal analysis of the decomposition of a LOVA gun propellant based on RDX and Nitrocellulose
Résumé
The undesired ignition of ammunitions during their different stages of life can lead to hazardous situations for goods and people. To tackle this, projects of LOw-Vulnerability Ammunitions (LOVA) have been developed. However, this loss of sensitivity can lead to ignition issues. The study of thermal decomposition is essential to reach a better understanding of ignition phenomena. This paper is about the thermal decomposition of a LOVA gun propellant based on RDX and nitrocellulose. Decomposition is studied by ThermoGravimetric Analysis (TGA) between 30 and 300 °C, under argon atmosphere and five heating rates (0.3, 0.5, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2 K/min). A kinetic analysis method, considering ICTAC recommendations, is developed in this paper and applied to TGA results. The latter allows to determine global kinetic parameters (pre-exponential factor, activation energy and reaction model based on the truncated Sestak-Berggren equation) to obtain a decomposition law depending on temperature and extent of conversion. A model with three kinetic steps is obtained. Its integration provides mass loss curves in good agreement with the TGA results.
Domaines
Milieux fluides et réactifsOrigine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
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