Rheology of suspensions with aluminum nano-particles

Abstract: Nano-scale aluminum particles are innovative materiais increasingly used in energetic formulations. In this contribution, the rheological behavior of suspensions with either paraffin oil or HTPB as the matrix fluid and nano-scale aluminum (ALEX) as the dispersed phase is described and discussed. The paraffin oil/aluminum suspensions exhibit non-Newtonian flow behavior over a wide range of concentrations, where as the HTPB/aluminum suspensions exhibit Newtonian behavior (i.e. the viscosity is independent of shear stress) up to a concentration of 50 vol.% aluminum. Both systems have un...