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Twin-Screw Plasticization of High-Nitrogen Nitrocellulose: Insights from Molecular Simulation and Rheological Characterization
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1School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China;2Luzhou North Chemical Industries Co., Ltd., Luzhou 646605,China State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology,China

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    Abstract:

    To improve the plasticizing effect of high-nitrogen single-base gun propellant and determine appropriate process parameters for high-nitrogen nitrocellulose (NC) during continuous twin-screw plastication, Molecular dynamics simulation was employed to analyze the effects of ethanol-ether mass ratio and solvent-NC mass ratio on NC plasticization. Ethanol-ether solubility experiments and rheological tests of the plasticized material were conducted to verify the simulation results. Results show that the solubility parameter of the ethanol-ether mixed solvent closely matches that of high-nitrogen NC. Strong hydrogen-bonding and electrostatic interactions exist between high-nitrogen NC and ethanol, while van der Waals forces dominate between NC and ether. At an ethanol-ether mass ratio of 1∶1.4, ethanol forms strong hydrogen bonds with NC, resulting in higher solubility, which is in good consistency with the experimental results that NC exhibits maximum solubility at an ethanol-ether mass ratio of 1∶1.36. Increasing the solvent-NC mass ratio within a certain range weakens the intramolecular hydrogen-bond interaction of NC and increases the radius of gyration of the molecular chains. These changes are correlated with the macroscopic phenomena of reduced shear viscosity of the material and a more compact and uniform extruded strands surface. At a solvent-to-NC mass ratio of 0.85, NC exhibits the largest radius of gyration for NC (2.24 nm) and the fewest intramolecular hydrogen bonds, which aligns with the experimental result that the apparent shear viscosity of the material is minimized at a solvent-NC mass ratio of 0.825. Due to the combined effects of strong screw shear and solvent volatilization, it is recommended to use a lower screw speed when plasticizing high-nitrogen NC with the simulated solvent-NC mass ratio. Additionally, appropriately increasing the screw speed under a low solvent-NC mass ratio can also effectively reduce material viscosity, attention must be given to the potential adverse effects caused by shear-induced heating.

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FANG-Song-hang, LUO Gui-ying, YOU Ting, et al. Twin-Screw Plasticization of High-Nitrogen Nitrocellulose: Insights from Molecular Simulation and Rheological Characterization[J]. Chinese Journal of Energetic Materials(Hanneng Cailiao),DOI:10.11943/CJEM2025248.

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History
  • Received:November 14,2025
  • Revised:April 06,2026
  • Adopted:March 19,2026
  • Online: March 31,2026
  • Published: