Evaluation of nanoparticles in the performance of energetic materials

The addition of nanosized metal particles in propulsion systems such as solid and liquid propellants, hybrid propellant and ramjet motors has recently became a major focus of research. Significant increases in the burning velocity and in the specific impulse are some of the advantages of using nano-scale energetic materials in many different types of propulsion systems. Aluminum has been largely employed as a metallic additive in energetic materials, also in a recently new propulsion system (aluminum/ice propulsion, “Alice”), and some studies show that the advantages of using nanosized aluminum instead of microsized aluminum are facilitating the ignition of the systems and allowing better incorporation of the components in the formulations and improving its homogeneity. Some of the combustion processes that require high pressures and even higher temperatures can occur in moderate conditions due to the increase of the surface area of the reactants, in this case, the metallic additive.