Effects of CL-20 on the condensed combustion products of Al/HMX-XLDB propellants

The particulate size description analyzer, image analysis coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS)analysis on a scanning electron microscope(SEM)and quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis were applied to research the effects of CL-20 on the condensed combustion products of Al/HMX-XLDB propellants. The results showed that the combustion efficiency of Al contained in XLDB propellant can be improved by the addition of CL-20. The residue ratio of the propellant was reduced to 0.500% when CL-20 substituted for HMX completely. However, the combustion efficiency of Al was 1.784% when CL-20 substituted for HMX partly(50%). It is probably due to the agglomeration of condensed combustion products. Meanwhile, κ-Al₂O₃ and δ-Al₂O₃ appeared in the combustion products as the content of CL-20 increased.