Trends in the development of propellants regarding the demands of future firearms
Progress in the development of solid propellants and knowledge determining the possibility of increasingly detailed analysis of phenomena occurring during the process of propelling projectiles are the main factors in the development of powders and gun propellant systems. The growth of potential ammunition and powder propellant systems is focused on improving the energetic, ballistic and operational characteristics of currently used powders and on searching for new propellants with a more environmentally friendly chemical composition (so-called green propellants). This paper presents an analysis of the possibilities in propellant systems development in the 21st century, from the internal ballistics perspective. At present, the most promising, from the tactical and technical point of view, are the propellant systems with layered powders (for a classic propellant system solution) and ETC (Electrothermo-Chemical gun) systems.