NITRO CELLULOSE POWDER CHARGES OF LONG SERVICE LIFE: PROBLEMS AND THEIR POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

One of the components of the problem of Ukraine's national security is the loading of warehouses with a variety of ammunition with an expired guaranteed storage period. The experience of storing ammunition shows that during long-term storage, propylene powder used in ammunition is capable of spontaneously undergoing various physical and chemical transformations, which negatively affects the ballistic characteristics of ammunition. The lack of ammunition production in Ukraine has led to the fact that ammunition is currently in operation, the storage time of which reaches 25-30 years or more. This article analyzes publications devoted to scientific research related to the problems of ballistic stability of propellants. A number of factors are presented that affect the physicochemical stability of powder charges during their long-term operation. The generalizing data on changes in the main ballistic characteristics of ammunition at different periods of their storage are presented. It is assumed that one of the ways to improve the ballistic and energy characteristics of ammunition with long service lives can be the regeneration of nitrocellulose powder charges. It is shown that at present there are no methods for the regeneration of propellant charges of long service life. However, there are encouraging data on the treatment of propellants with hydrogen peroxide, on the basis of which a technology can be developed for the complete or partial restoration of the ballistic and energy characteristics of the propellant charge. It is presented that the predictive assessment of changes in the characteristics of ammunition with long service lives does not correspond to their real indicators. It has been determined that the problem of nitrocellulose propellants of long service life is complex and, on the basis of its solution, theoretical and methodological foundations of the regeneration of nitrocellulose propellant charges can be developed to homologate the ballistic and energy characteristics of ammunition.