A study of propellant decomposition by differential scanning calorimetry

The decomposition of 12 commercial nitrocellulose propellants was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. In general, heats of decomposition were found to be about 400–475 cal g^? for all the propellants when the reaction produced 12–16% residue. Some samples decompose in a much different way, producing only about 3–4% residue and liberating only 200–250 cal g^?1. Both decomposition patterns were observed for samples of the same propellant run in the same way. In almost all cases, different manufacturing lots of the same propellant do not appear to show a significant difference in heat content. It appears that neither reprecipitation nor prolonged drying materially affects the heat of decomposition of the propellants.