Preparation and properties of a flake aluminum powder in an ammonium-perchlorate-based composite modified double-base propellant

A flake aluminum powder (F-Al) is prepared by a bi-directional rotation mill method using a spherical aluminum powder (S-Al) as a raw material. Then, these two kinds of aluminum powders are used to prepare ammonium perchlorate-based composite modified double-base (AP-based CMDB) propellants. The properties of two kinds of AP-based CMDB propellants, such as the thermal decomposition performance, mechanical sensitivity, and combustion performance, are comprehensively researched. The results show that the exothermic peak temperature of the F-Al-AP-based CMDB propellant is lower than that of the S-Al-AP-based CMDB propellant. The impact and friction sensitivities of the propellant decrease by 12% and 187% after using F-Al to replace S-Al. In addition, the burning rate of the F-Al-AP-based CMDB propellant is 5.5% higher.