Accounting for super-, plateau- and mesa-rate burning by lead and copper-based ballistic modifiers in double-base propellants: a computational study

O is essentially negligible. Carbon binds more strongly to copper oxide, however, and we therefore propose that when carbon levels start to fall this results in the lead oxide clusters being starved of carbon, which leads to plateau and mesa burning. Taken together, the calculations support a general model that accounts for the super-, plateau- and mesa-rate ballistic modifier burning effects.