Characterization of raman spectral changes in energetic materials and propellants during heating

Abstract : Raman spectroscopy has been shown to be a useful tool for characterizing neat crystalline explosive samples and for identifying principle components in many propellant and explosive formulations. Herein, we report recent measurements of Raman spectra of explosives and propellant formulations during bulk heating and recent measurements of laser heating of the samples during measurement of Raman spectra. The results of these measurements are important to investigators using Raman spectroscopy to measure vibrational spectra of burning propellant samples.