Influence of Fluorinated Polyurethane Binder on the Agglomeration Behaviors of Aluminized Propellants

In this study, fluorinated polyurethane (FPU) was prepared from dialcohol-terminated perfluoropolyether as a soft segment; isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) as a curing agent; 1,2,4-butanetriol (BT) as a crosslinker; and 1,4-butanediol (BDO) as a chain extender. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and (1)H NMR were used to characterize the structure of the FPU. The mechanical properties of the FPUs with different BDO and BT contents were also measured. The tensile strength and breaking elongation of the optimized FPU formula were 3.7 MPa and 412%, respectively. To find out the action mechanism of FPU on Al, FPU/Al was prepared by adding Al directly to FPU. The thermal decomposition of the FPU and FPU/Al was studied and compared by simultaneous differential scanning calorimetry-thermogravimetry-mass spectrometry (DSC-TG-MS). It was found that FPU can enhance the oxidation of Al by altering the oxide-shell properties. The combustion performance of the FPU propellant, compared with the corresponding hydroxyl-terminated polyether (HTPE)-based polyurethane (HPU) propellant, was recorded by a high-speed video camera. The FPU propellants were found to produce smaller agglomerates due to the generation of AlF(3) in the combustion process. These findings show that FPU may be a useful binder for tuning the agglomeration and reducing two-phase flow losses of aluminized propellants.