Using rheometry to study the curing kinetics of glycidyl azide polymer spherical propellant by non-isothermal method

The curing kinetics of GAP spherical propellant was studied by rheological non-isothermal measurement. The kinetic parameters were determined by rheometry based on conversion degree α described by storage modulus. The non-isothermal method was first used in rheometry as conversion α determined by a novel method, considering that storage modulus variation was a complex process which increased with polymerization and decreased as the temperature increased. The variation of apparent activation energy was obtained by the isoconversional method of Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose. It was found that Ea is little lower in the range of 0.05 < α < 0.50 than it is in the range of 0.50 < α < 0.70. During the complete curing process, apparent activation energy can be considered a constant. A new kinetic equation had been established and showed great agreement with experimental data. Altogether, the rheological non-isothermal method can be used to investigate the mechanism and kinetics of thermosetting reactions, and the obtained knowledge of the curing kinetic will form a contribution to the study of GAP spherical propellant.