Abstract: A closed vessel apparatus for rapidly determining the burning rate of uncd propellant. Apparatus includes a closed vessel enclosing a propellant in a holder. An ignition wire is mounted in the vessel for igniting the propellant. A pressure transducer is provided for detecting the pressure rise in the vessel and an electronic circuit triggers the start and stop of pressure integration. This data is fed to a data print out circuit.

Abstract: A silicon compound as a burning rate catalyst for a solid propellant comption is disclosed along with the solid propellant composition for which the silicon compound is an effective catalyst. The silicon compound is selected from a class of silicon compounds characterized by having one or more silicon bonds selected from silicon to hydrogen bonds, silicon to nitrogen bonds, and silicon to carbon bonds. Representative silicon compounds of the described class of compounds include p-bis(dimethylsilyl) benzene, tris(dimethylsilyl) amine, triethylsilane, hexamethyldisilane, bis(dimethylamino) dimethylsilane, bis(dimethylamino) methylsilane, octylsilane, hexamethylcyclotrisilazane, and dimethyldiicyanatosilane.

Abstract: Disclosed is a process for the recovery of carborane from reject solid prllant. The process comprises slicing or shredding into small pieces the solid propellant under water, screening the propellant to remove water from the propellant, performing a pentane extraction of the carborane from the small pieces of propellant, diluting the carborane/pentane solution with additional pentane and the carborane/pentane solution to remove small particles of propellant and other solids such as ammonium perchlorate, allowing the filtering effluent of carborane/pentane solution to enter a water wash tank at the bottom to remove ammonium perchlorate and other water soluble propellant materials, allowing the carborane/pentane layer to separate from the water layer, and then siphoning the carborane/pentane solution from the water layer, and distilling the pentane to separate and recover the carborane.