A new prepolymer: lactone-terminated polybutadiene (LTPB) for high-energy solid propellants

Abstract

The development of a new polybutadiene prepolymer with lactone terminals for use in solid propellants is reported. The data presented include those relating to the nature of reactions involved in synthesis, the spectroscopic and analytical studies to establish the nature of the functional terminals, and the mechanical and ballistic properties of the propellants based on the lactone-terminated polybutadiene (LTPB) prepolymer. Aging and low-temperature properties of the LTPB-based "Lactodiene" propellants are found to be comparable to the conventional carboxyl-terminated polybutadiene (CTPB)-based propellants. The studies on Lactodiene propellants bring out the experimental feasibility for a high-energy and high-density solid propellant system.