Process for the manufacture of high performance gun propellants

A process for manufacturing a high performance gun propellant containing at least one energetic thermoplastic elastomeric binder and at least one high-energy oxidizer comprising:

• (a) obtaining a plurality of molding powder compositions comprising particles of said at least one high-energy oxidizer coated with said at least one energetic thermoplastic elastomeric binder, wherein said at least one high-energy oxidizer has a concentration in a range from 70% to 85%, by weight, and said at least one energetic thermoplastic elastomeric binder has a concentration in a range from 15% to 30%, by weight, wherein each molding powder composition of said plurality of molding powder compositions has a particle size in a range from 200 μm to 2000 μm, wherein said at least one energetic thermoplastic elastomeric binder is at least one selected from the group consisting of poly-NMMO (nitratomethyl-methyloxetane), GAP (polyglycidyl azide), poly-BAMO (poly(bis(azidomethyl)oxetane)), poly-AMMO (poly(azidomethyl-methyl-oxetane)), poly-NAMMO (poly(nitraminomethyl-methyloxetane)), poly-BFMO (poly(bis(difluoroaminomethyl)oxetane)), poly-DFMO (poly(difluoroaminomethylmethyl-oxetane)), and copolymers and mixtures thereof, wherein said at least one high energy oxidizer is at least one selected from CL-20 (2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazatetracyclo[5.5.0.05,9.03,11]-dodecane), RDX (1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane), HMX (1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooctane), TEX (4,10-dinitro-2,6,8,12-tetraoxa-4, 10-diazatetracyclo[5.5.0.05,9.03,11]dodecane), NTO (3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one), NQ (nitroguanidine), TATB (1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene), TNAZ (1,3,3-trinitroazetidine), ADN (ammonium dinitramide), and DADNE (1,1-diamino-2,2-dinitro ethane);
• and wherein each of said plurality of molding powder compositions comprises varying amounts, by weight, of said at least one high-energy oxidizer and said at least one thermoplastic elastomeric binder;
• (b) extruding separately at least a first and a second molding powder composition of said plurality of molding powder compositions with an extruder having a barrel and a die to form at least a first extruded gun propellant and a second extruded gun propellant, respectively;
• (c) rolling separately at least the first and the second extruded gun propellants into at least a first plurality and a second plurality of gun propellant sheets, respectively;
• and
• (d) forming a layered gun propellant sheet from at least said first and said second pluralities of gun propellant sheets,
• wherein (i) said first and said second plurality of gun propellant sheets contain different high-energy oxidizers, (ii) said first and said second plurality of gun propellant sheets contain different thermoplastic elastomeric binders, or (iii) said first and said second plurality of gun propellant sheets contain different high-energy oxidizers and contain different thermoplastic elastomeric binders.

A process for manufacturing a high performance gun propellant comprising a plurality of gun propellant sheets, at least a first and a second of said gun propellant sheets being respectively formed from a first extrudable composition and a second extrudable composition, the first extrudable composition being different than the second extrudable composition, said process comprising:

• (a) separately extruding said first extrudable composition and said second extrudable composition in an extruder having a barrel and a die to form respectively a first extruded gun propellant and a second extruded gun propellant, the first extrudable composition and the second extrudable composition each respectively comprising a separate plurality of coated particles having particle sizes in a range of from 200 μm to 2000 μm, said coated particles containing 70 wt % to 85 wt % of a high energy oxidizer and 15 wt % to 30 wt % of an energetic thermoplastic elastomeric binder, the energetic thermoplastic elastomeric binder being coated on the high energy oxidizer, wherein each respective plurality of coated particles comprises varying amounts, by weight, of energetic thermoplastic elastomeric binder and high energy oxidizer;
• (b) rolling separately at least said first extruded gun propellant and said second extruded gun propellant to form the first gun propellant sheet and the second gun propellant sheet, respectively;
• (c) layering at least the first and second gun propellant sheets to form a high performance gun propellant,
• wherein at least one of the following conditions is met:
• (i) the high energy oxidizer of the first extrudable composition differs from the high energy oxidizer of the second extrudable composition, and
• (ii) the energetic thermoplastic elastomeric binder of the first extrudable composition differs from the energetic thermoplastic elastomeric binder of the second extrudable composition.