CHAPTER 3

PROPELLANT
OBJECTIVES:

• To know the different types of propellant

• To be knowledgeable on the purpose of
propellant in different type of
ammunition

A Brief History of Propellants

Gunpowder, whether it is ‘black powder’, ‘nitrocellulose’ or a ‘double-based powder’,

is a solid substance that, on combustion, is converted into a very large volume of gas
within a very short period of time. Whilst nitrocellulose-based powders can be
detonated, in small arms ammunition, they are merely propel- lants which on ignition
produce a very large volume of gaseous material which propels the missile down the
bore.

Conditions under which this could occur are many, but the basic causes of such
an incidence are a barrel obstruction, a propellant with a burning rate too high for
the bullet weight/bore size combination or too great a charge of propellant.

Propellants can be loosely divided into two classes: (i) black powder and
(ii) nitro-based powders. Whilst both types of propellants are commercially
available, the use of black powder tends to be restricted to enthusiasts firing
muzzle- loading weapons. Virtually all modern cartridges are loaded with some
form of nitrocellulose powder.

Black powder

Black powder was undoubtedly the earliest

form of gunpowder or propellant used in firearms.
It is, however, impossible to determine with any
degree of authority who invented it.

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 The use of ‘Greek Fire’ to capture the city of
Delium by the Boetans in 424 BC is well recorded,
although it was probably used as no more than
an incendiary device.

The Chinese are known to have fired incendiary

and explosive devices from a bow or catapult as
early as 1000 AD, and their name for gunpowder
(Huo Yao – fire chemical) was standardized by
1040 AD. This Chinese gunpowder probably spread to Europe via the Mongols
under Genghis Khan.

The earliest European reference to gunpowder is

found in the writings of Friar Roger Bacon who lived in
England (1214–1294) and prepared his manuscript on
the subject around 1250. He was familiar with its
explosive properties, but does not appear to have had
any idea as to its use as a propellant. His formula of
seven parts of potassium nitrate, five parts of sulfur and
five parts of charcoal remained standard until improved
upon by the French in 1338.

Another document written by an obscure monk Marcus Graecus also deals

with gunpowder. The original portion of the document is dated 846 AD and is
written in Greek. That portion dealing with gunpowder was added to Graecus’
document at a later date, and in Latin and is dated 1240. Roger Bacon spent
some time in Spain and his knowledge is thought to have originated from the
Marcus Graecus document.

Berthold Schwartz, a famous monk of Freiberg,

Germany, studied the writings of Bacon and carried out
considerable experimentation. It was following his
announcement of his researches, in 1320, that
gunpowder really started to spread through central
Europe. Mr Oliver of Boklerberry appears to have been
one of the first English dealers in gunpowder and its
manufacture, as an industry, dates back to Elizabeth I
(1533–1603) when gunpowder mills were first estab-
lished in Kent.

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Nitro powders

The development of smokeless powder was

closely associated with the discovery of gun cotton
and nitroglycerine, both of which are high
explosives.

The first form of ‘smokeless powder’ was

probably made by Vieille, a French chemist, in
1884. By dissolving nitrocellulose, or gun cotton as
it is also known, in a mixture of ether and alcohol,
a gelatinous colloid is formed. This can be rolled
into sheets or extruded into rod or tube form.
When dried, it forms a hard, stable material which
can easily be handled. This type of smokeless
pro- pellant is called single-base powder.

Another form of propellant was developed by Alfred Nobel in 1887. In this form,
the nitrocellulose was dissolved in nitroglycerine. Vaseline was added as a lubricant
and stabilizer, and the material so formed could then be extruded or rolled and cut
into the shape or size required. This type of propellant is called double-based
powder. Probably the most familiar form of a double-based powder is the British
military propellant cordite. This propellant was, until quite recently, used in all British
military rifle and pistol ammunition. Cordite contains 37% nitrocellulose, 58%
nitroglycerine and 5% vaseline.

Moderation of nitrocellulose-based propellants

When a propellant is ignited within the confines of a cartridge case enclosed in

the breech of a weapon, large quantities of gas are produced. The pressure so formed
pushes the bullet down the barrel and so discharges it from the weapon. The problem is
that once the bullet starts to move down the barrel, the space occupied by the gases
increases and the pressure starts to fall. Some method of modifying the burning rate of
the propellant is thus necessary to ensure that the pressure exerted on the base of the
bullet is fairly consistent during its progress down the length of the barrel.

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A list of the more commonly known additives and moderators follows

ADDITIVES PURPOSES
Resorcinol Plasticizer
Triacetin Plasticizer
Dimethyl sebacetate Plasticizer
Dimethyl phthalate Plasticizer
diphenylamine Plasticizer
Calcium carbonate Adsorb free nitrogen dioxide for long-
term propellant stability

Diphenylamine Adsorb free nitrogen dioxide for long-

term
propellant stability

Dinitro toluene Gelatinizer to slow rate of burning

Dibutylphthalate Gelatinizer to slow rate of burning
Carbamate Gelatinizer to slow rate of burning

Barium nitrate To increase rate of burning

To increase rate of burning Graphite
Potassium nitrate Surface moderator
Wood meal A fuel – only in shotgun ammunition

Other additives include:

Cresol Nitroglycerine
Carbazole N-nitrosodiphenylamine
Carbanilide Trinitrotoluene
Nitrophenylamine N,N-dimethylcarbanilide
Dinitrocresol 2,4-Dinitrodiphenylamine
Triacetin Dibutylphthalate
Nitrotoluene Pentaerythritol tetranitrate
Cyclonite or RDX

(Royal Demolition eXplosive) N,N-dibutycarbanilide

Diethylphthalate Methycentralite

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The advantages of nitro-based propellants over black powder are many and
include:

• a very small quantity of a nitro-based propellant is required in comparison to

black powder;
• the ease with which it can be modified to fit almost any circumstance;
• a negligible quantity of combustion residues left in the bore;
the low corrosive nature of the combustion residues.

The flameless temperature of ignition for nitrocellulose propellants is rather low

at approximately 350 °C. However, if ammunition is subjected to a fire, it is the
primer which will almost invariably ignite first as the ignition temperature of this is
around 250 °C.
How fast a propellant burns gives an indication as to its intended use. Very fast
burning powders are best suited for use with lightweight bullets and short barrels,
whilst the slower burning ones are for heavy magnum calibre weapons with long
barrels.

Some examples follow:

• Lesmok 1910–1947
• ball powder 1941–to date
• cordite 1885–1956
• Schultzite 1867–1935
• Smokeless Diamond 1920–1939

Priming Compounds and Primers

A priming compound is a highly sensitive explosive chemical which, when struck by

the firing pin or hammer of a weapon, will explode with great violence, causing a
flame to ignite the propellant.

The earliest priming compound was almost certainly mercury fulminate as used in
the Forsythe scent bottle priming system which was introduced around 1806.

This compound is highly sensitive and liable to spontaneously explode for no

apparent reason. As a result, the Forsythe scent bottle, which required a
considerable quantity of this compound to be carried in a container on the side of
the pistol, did not achieve a great deal of popularity.

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Lead-free and non-toxic primers.
It began to become apparent in the early 1970s that in heavily used training
facilities, the range personnel were suffering from the symptoms of lead
poisoning. Whilst a large proportion of this lead was being volatilized from the
base of the bullets, a portion was obviously coming from the lead styphenate
primer.
The US National Bureau of Standards claims that when lead-based primers
are used, 80% of airborne lead on firing ranges comes from the projectile and
20% comes from the priming composition. These percentages obviously depend
on whether the bullet is plain lead or jacketed.

Other initiator explosives include:

• dinitrodihydroxydiazobenzene salt (diazinate);

• dinitrobenzofuroxan salts;
• potassium dinitrobenzofuroxan;
• various diazo, triazole, and tetrazaole compounds;
• perchlorate or nitrate salts of metal complexes of ammonium, amine or
hydrazine an example of which is 2-(5-cyanotetrazolato)pentaaminecobalt III
perchlorate (CP).

Oxidizers include:

• zinc oxide;
• potassium nitrate;
• strontium nitrate;
• zinc peroxide.

Fuel components include:

• amorphous boron;
• metal powders, such as aluminium, zirconium, titanium, nickel and zinc;
• carbon;
• silicon;
• metal sulfides such as:
– antimony sulphide;
– bismuth sulphide;
– iron sulphide;
zinc sulphide

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 BRIEF HISTORY OF PRIMER DEVELOPMENT

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 Brief glossary

Black powder Mechanical mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur and

charcoal.
Gun cotton Nitrated cotton, a form of nitrocellulose.
Lesmok Trade name for obsolete propellant containing 85% black
powder and 15% gun cotton.
Nitrocellulose Nitrated cellulose which forms the basis of all modern
propellants.
Propellant moderator A method by which the burning rate of a nitrocellulose-
Brief glossary
based propellant can be controlled by physically alter- ing the
grain shape or addition of a surfactant or chemical.
Pyrodex Modern alternative for black powder.

Reference:

Firearm and Ballistics by B, J Heard

Video Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwKK4Ef
9Mi8

https://youtu.be/HEhH7735gSs

https://youtu.be/QEP39EovJ0k

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