Study on the micromechanics of the NEPE solid propellant

In-situ observations of fracture processes in scanning electron microscope were employed to study the tensile fracture behavior of the NEPE solid propellant. It was found that the dewetting behavior between the particle and the binder is the dominating factor for the damage of the propellant. The process of fracture was studied quantificationally through the digital imaging processing. The fractal dimensions of the image were calculated. It was found that the fractal dimensions were increased as the process of the tensile. The calculated fractal dimensions could be applied for evaluating the damaging process of the solid propellant quantificationally.