Influences of Bu-NENA and BDNPA/F Plasticizers on the Properties of Binder for High-Energy NEPE Propellants

Desensitized energetic plasticizer (DEP) plays a crucial role in the properties of the binder, and thus can further influence the performances of desensitive Nitrate Ester Plasticized Polyether (NEPE) propellants, which represents the development direction of the next generation solid propellant composites. However, at present, a study on influencing mechanisms for curing properties of propellant binders at the atomic and molecular level was rarely reported. In the current study, based on the curing kinetics and mechanical properties of PET/N-100 binder, the influencing mechanism of the DEPs, BDNPA/F, and Bu-NENA, on the binder was determined by the Gaussian quantum chemical calculation and MD simulation at the chemical bond and polymer chain levels, as well as the characterizations of the curing network structure, glass transition temperature, and microphase separation of the binder system. The consistent results at both micro and macro levels offer important theoretical guidance for studying the structure-mechanism-performance relationship of propellant binder, as well as for exploring the strategies that can reveal the curing mechanism of the binder system in depth.