Boron Containing Combustion Controllable Solid Propellant with Multi-Modal Response to Voltage & Laser

This paper conducts a study on boron-containing lithium perchlorate-based controllable solid (CSP) propellants. A rapid preparing method for CSP was proposed, using a gel with less initial water content for shaping and drying with bare bulk, with curing time of only one day. The bulk has good formability, no obvious defects, and the boron-containing sample (BCSP) has a 10.7% increase in compressive strength and a 48.5% increase in elastic modulus at -40°C, with better low-temperature mechanical properties. The electrically controlled and laser controlled combustion properties of the propellant were tested, and the results showed that under electrically controlled conditions, BCSP can burn stably and controllably in the environment of -30°C to +55°C and low-pressure to 0.85 MPa without structural damage. BCSP has a higher heat release from chemical reactions, a 30.3% reduction in the minimum maintenance power for maintaining combustion after ignition, and can save external energy supply for long-term operation. CSP samples have high laser reflectance and cannot be reliably ignited under laser. BCSP is compatible with the laser controlled mode in open environment. Compared with the electrically controlled mode, the laser controlled mode has better combustion controllability, but its energy output is lower.