Thermal Behavior and Non‐isothermal Decomposition Reaction Kinetics of NEPE Propellant with Ammonium Dinitramide

Thermal decomposition behavior and non-isothermal decomposition reaction kinetics of nitrate ester plasticized polyether NEPE propellant containing ammonium dinitramide (ADN), which is one of the most important high energetic materials, were investigated by DSC, TG and DTG at 0.1 MPa. The results show that there are four exothermic peaks on DTG curves and four mass loss stages on TG curves at a heating rate of 2.5 K·min−1 under 0.1 MPa, and nitric ester evaporates and decomposes in the first stage, ADN decomposes in the second stage, nitrocellulose and cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) decompose in the third stage, and ammonium perchlorate decomposes in the fourth stage. It was also found that the thermal decomposition processes of the NEPE propellant with ADN mainly have two mass loss stages with an increase in the heating rate, that is the result of the decomposition heats of the first two processes overlap each other and the mass content of ammonium perchlorate is very little which is not displayed in the fourth stage at the heating rate of 5, 10, and 20 K·min−1 probably. It was to be found that the exothermal peak temperatures increased with an increase in the heating rate. The reaction mechanism was random nucleation and then growth, and the process can be classified as chemical reaction. The kinetic equations of the main exothermal decomposition reaction can be expressed as: dα/dt=1012.77(3/2)(1−α)[−ln(1−α)]1/3 e−1.723×104/T. The critical temperatures of the thermal explosion (Tbe and Tbp) obtained from the onset temperature (Te) and the peak temperature (Tp) on the condition of β0 are 461.41 and 458.02 K, respectively. Activation entropy (ΔS≠), activation enthalpy (ΔH≠), and Gibbs free energy (ΔG≠) of the decomposition reaction are −7.02 J·mol−1·K−1, 126.19 kJ·mol−1, and 129.31 kJ·mol−1, respectively.