That was probably over a decade ago IIRC when Phil Teakle was involved with
ASRI. ASRI managed to get a tonne of AP from a fireworks manufacturer who was
closing down in Melbourne back in … maybe the 90s IIRC. They used a bit of it
for 5” solids testing to replace their reliance on the surplus Zunis? I think
what was left of the AP got shipped over the NZ for Rocket Lab’s
experimentation and finally finished up with a pyro company in NZ (Van Tiel
Pyrotechnics?). Don’t take any of that as Gospel…
Anyway… I’m not sure ASRI have done any solids work for a while?
Troy
From: arocket-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:arocket-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Jake Anderson (Redacted sender "jake" for DMARC)
Sent: Tuesday, 7 July 2020 10:23 AM
To: arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; Joshua Carr <admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [AR] Re: Making composite APCP in Australia
My info is old but you should perhaps hit up ASRI. I seem to recall them doing
some propellant casting in the past.
Worst case they may be able to point you in the right direction.
On 6/7/20 11:46 pm, Joshua Carr wrote:
Hi Terry,
The next step I am about to take is to purchase your book from
aeroconsystems.com.
Is this the best place to buy it?
Also, I would like to ask your opinion on something, I hope you don't mind.
Given your chemistry background, do you have any recommendations for
understanding ignition and chemical reactions?
After a lot of reading (and a uni course or two) I still haven't found a decent
explanation of what is happening at the fundamental level.
The same is the case for binders and diisocyanate or curing agents ect.
I have learnt a bit about this process, such as bond types, from expanding foam
and rubber making.
But it seems a lot of books on rocketry leave these things out.
Anyway just a thought of mine, if you are reading thanks for your time and hope
to speak again soon.
Kind regards,
Joshua Carr
---- On Fri, 29 May 2020 00:19:56 +0930 Terry McCreary
<mailto:tmccreary@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> <tmccreary@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote ----
Hello Joshua and the rest of the list, I was on the TRA BoD during most of the
BATFE lawsuit. If memory serves (sometimes it doesn't anymore...:-\) that suit
consumed a bit more than two-thirds of a million dollars over a 10+ year
period.
Initially Judge Reggie Walton ruled that BATFE had deference to classify (as an
explosive) virtually any material they chose. TRA+NAR appealed, the appeals
court didn't buy the "due-deference" argument, and the suit went back to Walton.
At some point BATFE decided that the burn rate of safety fuse was a guide to
classification; anything that burned faster than that was to be classified as
an explosive. A 1000+ page document was submitted, "proving" that APCP burned
at tens of meters/second and was therefore an explosive.**
TRA+NAR provided just a couple dozen pages which included citations from actual
peer-reviewed publications by actual rocket scientists. Within those
publications were some ballistic properties of a few hundred propellant
mixtures, most having burn rates @1000 psi on the order of 1 cm/s, and none
exceeding about 3 cm/s.
Following Judge Walton's ruling in favor of TRA+NAR, a request for recovery of
fees was made. The amount recovered was well under $100K... oh well, we WON!!
<https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2400163/tripoli-rocketry-v-bureau-of-alcohol-tobacco/>
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2400163/tripoli-rocketry-v-bureau-of-alcohol-tobacco/?
Best -- Terry
**BATFE's legal team apparently went to the W.C. Field's School of Law and
Heavy Machinery Operation: "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle
them with bulls++t." And somewhere in their submitted document was
proof...that if a rocket motor was clamped tightly enough to a steel rod, upon
ignition the case would rupture and undergo RSD---rapid spontaneous
disassembly. ;-)
On 5/27/2020 10:34 PM, Joshua Carr wrote:
In Australia we need a full on explosives license to do what you fellas in the
USA take for granted.
Sure Tripoli and the rest of you guys went to fight for APCP a while back, but
it would be great to share some wisdom to us Aussies down under (the industry
ain't exactly booming here).
Regards,
Joshua Carr
--
Dr. Terry McCreary
Professor Emeritus
Murray State University
Murray KY 42071