Overview of Al-based nanoenergetic ingredients for solid rocket propulsion

The introduction of nano-sized energetic ingredients first occurred in Russia about 60 years ago and arose great expectations in the rocket propulsion community, thanks to the higher energy densities and faster energy release rates exhibited with respect to conventional ingredients. But, despite intense worldwide research programs, still today mostly laboratory level applications are reported and often for scientific purposes only. A number of practical reasons prevent the applications at industrial level: inert native coating of the energetic particles, nonuniform dispersion, aging, excessive viscosity of the slurry propellant, possible limitations in mechanical properties, more demanding safety issues, cost, and so on. This paper describes the main features in terms of performance of solid rocket propellants loaded with nanometals and intends to emphasize the unique properties or operating conditions made possible by the addition of the nano-sized energetic ingredients. Steady and unsteady combustion regimes are examined.