Propellant compositions

Claim 1

IN A HETEROGENEOUS MONOPROPELLENT COMPOSITION CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A DISPERSION OF FINELY-DIVIDED, INSOLUBLE, SOLID INORGANIC OXIDIZER IN A CONTINUOUS OXIDIZABLE ORGANIC FUEL MATRIC WHICH FORMS GASEOUS COMBUSTION PRODUCTS, SAID ORGANIC FUEL MATRIX CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A HYDROCARBON COMPOUND CONSISTING OF CARBON AND HYDROGEN AND AN ACTIVE ORGANIC COMPOUND WHICH CONTAINS COMBINED OXYGEN AVAILABLE FOR OXIDATION OF OTHER MOLECULARLY-COMBINED COMPONENTS OF SAID ACTIVE COMPOUND, SAID ACTIVE COMPOUND CONTAINING A RADICAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF NITROSO, NITRO, NITRITE AND NITRATE, SAID OXIDIZER BEING PRESENT IN AMOUNT SUFFICIENT TO MAINTAIN ACTIVE COMBUSTION OF THE HYDROCARBON COMPOUND, SAID ORGANIC FUEL MATRIX CONTAINING, IN ADDITION, FROM 0 TO A MINOR AMOUNT OF A GELLING AGENT, ALL OF WHICH IS DISSOLVED THEREIN, THE IMPROVEMENT IN WHICH SAID ORGANIC FUEL MATRIX, INCLUDING SAID DISSOLVED GELLING AGENT WHEN PRESENT, IS A LIQUID WHICH IS MOBILE AT ORDINARY TEMPERATURES, COMPRISES AT LEAST ABOUT 8% BY WEIGHT OF SAID COMPOSITION AND COMPRISES AT LEAST TWO LIQUID COMPONENTS ALL OF WHICH HAVE A MAXIUM VAPOR PRESSURE OF ABOUT 25 MM. HG AT 100*C., SAID LIQUID COMPONENTS CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF AT LEAST 50% BY WEIGHT OF SAID HYDROCARBON COMPOUND, AND FROM A MINOR AMOUNT UP TO ABOUT 50% BY WEIGHT OF SAID ACTIVE ORGANIC COMPOUND, EACH OF SAID HYDROCARBON COMPOUND AND SAID ACTIVE ORGANIC COMPOUND BEING A LIQUID AT ORDINARY TEMPERATURES, SAID MONOPROPELLANT BEING AN EXTRUDIBLE, THIXOTROPIC COMPOSITION WHICH REQUIRES A FINITE STRESS TO PRODUCE FLOW, IS INDEFINITELY CAPABLE, AFTER STORAGE, OF CONTINUOUS FLOW AT AMBIENT TEMPERATURE UNDER A MAXIMUM SHEAR STRESS AT A WALL OF 10 P.S.I., AND HAS A MINIMUM TENSILE STRENGTH OF ABOUT 0.01 P.S.I.