Military systems have become more complex, and the development of future advanced materials for defence applications has received much attention. Nanocellulose has been identified as a ‘super versatile material’ that will become a replacement material for many applications including in the military. Nanocellulose can be synthesized from discarded fibers that are left over from forestry and agricultural waste that can be transformed into high-value products. Thanks to its interesting properties, comprising low thermal expansion coefficient, high aspect ratio, high crystallinity, and good mechanical and optical properties, nanocellulose has emerged as a new material class for high end military products such as bulletproof vests, fire-retardant materials, as a component of propellants and filtration materials, and in textile, electronic and energy products. Therefore, in this review, current and future applications of nanocellulose in the military are critically discussed. This review is intended to impart to readers some of the excitement that currently surrounds nanocellulose research, and it's fascinating chemical and physical properties and applications in the military.

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Nanocellulose: the next super versatile material for the military

Advanced preparation and processing techniques for high energy fuel AlH3

Combustion and agglomeration characteristics of aluminized propellants containing Al/CuO/PVDF metastable intermolecular composites: A highly adjustable functional catalyst

The burning of an aluminized propellant within a solid rocket motor produces liquid A1/A12O3 droplets on the propellant surface. Upon leaving the surface and experiencing collisions with other droplets large agglomerates may form. A significant percentage of these droplets and/or agglomerates may be deposited on the inner surfaces of the motor as a consequence of their inability to follow the gas streamlines through the nozzle. The study described herein develops an understanding of this deposition process through flow modeling and the subsequent accumulation and pooling of this slag material within the Space Shuttle solid rocket motor (SRM). From this , an analytical procedure was developed for predicting certain unknowns relating to the deposition and pooling processes. The results of an analysis using this procedure have been qualitatively verified by post-test observations of solidified slag within static horizontally fired motors. The results of the analysis were used to provide an explanation for the slag in the QM-2 and to predict the effects of flight acceleration on slag formation. The procedure is applicable to any rocket motor configuration, although IS was devloped for the SRM.

Zhi-Min Fan

Papers

Agglomeration and combustion characteristics of solid composite propellants containing aluminum-based alloys

Combustion performance of composite propellants containing core-shell Al@M(IO3)x metastable composites