Investigation of Various Methods for Measuring the Aging Parameters of Solid Rocket Propellants

Solid propellant can be deteriorated gradually while they are stored. This phenomenon usually occurs via an exothermic reaction called aging. This spontaneous reaction may release such an enormous heat causing the combustion of the propellant in its chamber. Therefore, it is necessary to achieve a method to characterize the propellant during its shelf life and to estimate the safe service time of these sensitive chemical materials, so that we can use the stored propellants safely. In this paper, we introduce methods which measure changes and deteriorations during shelf life in addition to estimating the expiration time of propellants. Despite the importance of this subject in military services, there is no comprehensive report on how the aging characterizations can be determined.