An Ionic Liquid-Based Next Generation Double Base Propellant Stabilizer

Due to extreme environments in overseas theaters of operation, a number of ordnance devices and munitions have been exposed to high temperatures in excess of their qualified limit. The resultant reduction in the propellant service life has resulted in an effort to identify and develop advanced thermal stabilizers. Simply adding more of the fielded inert stabilizer would negatively affect propellant performance, so one solution under consideration is an energetic stabilizer that does not carry a performance penalty. The approach discussed herein uses ionic liquids because their “designer” nature allows them to be tailored for a specific purpose by choosing specific counterions. Currently an ionic liquid-based stabilizer is being designed which combines a counterion that acts as the stabilizer and a counterion that is energetic. For this application, various state of the art stabilizers that have been altered to give them the proper ionic charge, are being combined with assorted energetic counterion cores to determine the best overall blend of service life and propellant performance. Additionally, two advanced stabilizers are being tested because they appear to provide performance benefits over state of the art stabilizers. This paper summarizes efforts to date in an on-going investigation.