Burn Rate Study on Alliant (Green Dot) Smokeless Shotgun Powder and Kclo4
Burn rate study on Alliant (Green dot) smokeless shotgun powder and KClO4
Shalom AJ Cohen
Philadelphia community college
11/2010
Abstract: The purpose of this project is to measure if differing amounts of potassium perchlorate, KCIO4, mixed with shotgun powder has an effect on burn rate. The experiment was videotaped and the duration of burn time for each amount used was recorded. KClO4, amounts ranging from .2g to 2g, were added to 4g of shotgun powder. A steel pipe that is ½ inch wide and 6 inch, which is welded vertically to a steel plate base was used for confinement. Ignition occurred from the top down. The hypothesis that was accepted is that the concentration of KClO4 will accelerate the burn rate of smokeless flake powder.
Introduction: Most shotgun powder is mixed to have sufficient oxygen to burn well. This experiment explored the results of adding additional oxidizer to the shotgun powder and igniting the mixture. The theory is addition of even more oxygen would cause the burn rate to accelerate.
KClO4 is an oxidizer, a compound that readily transfers oxygen atoms and releases these atoms when heated. KClO4 is used in many flash powder compositions due to its abundance of oxygen and relative stability (Kubota, 2002).
Smokeless powders, or propellants, are essentially mixtures of chemicals designed to burn under controlled conditions at the proper rate to propel a projectile from a gun. The energy released from double-base smokeless powders is derived from both nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin. The particular brand used in this experiment is Alliant, Green Dot double-base smokeless flake powder. All smokeless powders are extremely flammable; by design, they are intended to burn rapidly and vigorously when ignited. Oxygen from the air is not necessary for the combustion of smokeless powders since they contain sufficient built-in oxygen to burn
completely, (Kosanke, B.J. et al., 2004) when ignited in an unconfined state, smokeless
Shalom AJ Cohen
Philadelphia community college
11/2010
Abstract: The purpose of this project is to measure if differing amounts of potassium perchlorate, KCIO4, mixed with shotgun powder has an effect on burn rate. The experiment was videotaped and the duration of burn time for each amount used was recorded. KClO4, amounts ranging from .2g to 2g, were added to 4g of shotgun powder. A steel pipe that is ½ inch wide and 6 inch, which is welded vertically to a steel plate base was used for confinement. Ignition occurred from the top down. The hypothesis that was accepted is that the concentration of KClO4 will accelerate the burn rate of smokeless flake powder.
Introduction: Most shotgun powder is mixed to have sufficient oxygen to burn well. This experiment explored the results of adding additional oxidizer to the shotgun powder and igniting the mixture. The theory is addition of even more oxygen would cause the burn rate to accelerate.
KClO4 is an oxidizer, a compound that readily transfers oxygen atoms and releases these atoms when heated. KClO4 is used in many flash powder compositions due to its abundance of oxygen and relative stability (Kubota, 2002).
Smokeless powders, or propellants, are essentially mixtures of chemicals designed to burn under controlled conditions at the proper rate to propel a projectile from a gun. The energy released from double-base smokeless powders is derived from both nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin. The particular brand used in this experiment is Alliant, Green Dot double-base smokeless flake powder. All smokeless powders are extremely flammable; by design, they are intended to burn rapidly and vigorously when ignited. Oxygen from the air is not necessary for the combustion of smokeless powders since they contain sufficient built-in oxygen to burn
completely, (Kosanke, B.J. et al., 2004) when ignited in an unconfined state, smokeless
References: Berger B., Brammer, A.J., Charsley, E. L., Rooney, J.J., and Warrington, S.B., (1997). Thermal analysis studies on the boron-potassium perchlorate nitrocellulose pyrotechnic system. Journal of Thermal Analysis Vol. 49, 1327-1335. Kosanke, B. J., Sturman, B., Kosanke, K., von Maltitz, I., Shimizu, T., Wilson, M. A., Kubota, N., Jennings-White, C., Chapman, D. (2004) . Pyrotechnic Chemistry. Whitewater, CO: Journal of Pyrotechnics. Hershkowitz, J. (1963). The combustion of a granular mixture of potassium percholate and aluminum considered as either a deflagration or a detonation. Picatinny Arsenal Technical Report, 3063. Akhavan, J. (2004)The chemistry of explosives. Cambridge, UK: Royal Society of Chemistry. Kubota, N. (2002) Propellants and explosives: thermochemical aspects of combustion. Tokyo, Japan: Kogyo Press.