Effects of Formulation and Temperature on the Rheological Behavior of Nitroguanidine-Based Propellants

The rheological properties of propellant are several key factors in the process design, which affect the quality of propellant processing that determines the weapon's performance. The main technological parameters influencing the quality of nitroguanidine-based propellant are nitroguanidine (NGu) content, solvent ratio and temperature. Rheological test of the propellant dough was carried out by using capillary rheometer. The effects of these main process parameters on the shear stress and shear viscosity of the propellant during the rheological process were discussed. Power law model, modified Bingham model and Cross model were used to fit the rheological data. The results show that Power law model is better than the other two models, explaining Power law model can be used as the constitutive equation to describe the actual rheological behavior of the propellant extrusion moulding more accurately.