HYDERABAD: Researchers at the Advanced Centre of Research in High Energy Materials (ACRHEM) in University of Hyderabad (UoH) have been granted patent for an innovative process, that they claim would improve the quality of solid rocket fuel. ACRHEM is a DRDO Centre of Excellence in UoH.
Solid rocket fuel uses a liquid known as Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), which acts as an energetic binder in the fuel, replacing the inert mass by energetic molecules and retaining inherent properties.
The process developed by the UoH researchers helps tether energetic molecules (nitrogen rich molecules) at the terminal end of HTPB, which results in an energetic HTPB binder. This, in turn, imparts superior properties to the solid rocket fuel. As per a media release by the University of Hyderabad, the inventors of this process are Prof. Tushar Jana and two of his associates, Dr Bikash Kumar Sikder and Moumita Dhara.