Accelerated aging of porous pyrotechnic compositions based on nitrocellulose

Accelerated aging studies were performed with novel nitrocellulose based porous pyrotechnic compositions comprising carbonate salts with stabilizing properties. The goal of these studies was to predict whether the compositions would meet specific safe shelf life requirements. In this prediction the Arrhenius equation of STANAG 4582 for safe storage time of nitrocellulose based propellants was considered. An important parameter of this equation is the apparent activation energy of the combined chemical mechanisms contributing to the decomposition reaction. The generally assumed activation energy for propellants may not necessarily apply to these novel pyrotechnic compositions. Therefore, the apparent activation energies of the novel compositions were determined using isothermal aging experiments performed at different temperatures from 30 to 80 °C, while monitoring the mass loss of the compositions over time. The identified values for the apparent activation energy of the tested compositions are between 76 and 86 kJ/mol, within the experimental temperature range.