Smokeless propellants have been studied and manufactured for many decades. They exist in various physical forms and comprise different properties as per to the use of each propellant. Ball powder is one of the most renowned form of the smokeless powders. Knowing the advantages of ball powders, manufacturers manufacture a smokeless powder. Another form of smokeless powder is spherical powder and double-base powder.
As the name implies, smokeless powder produce negligible smoke when fired, unlike the older black powder which they replaced. The properties of the propellant are greatly influenced by the size and shape of its grains. The surface of the grains influences the speed of burning, and the shape influences the surface and its change during burning. Faster-burning propellants generate higher temperatures and higher pressures, though they also increase the wear of the gun barrels.
Types of Smokeless Powder
Different types of smokeless powder include Cordite, Ballistite, and historically, Poudre B. Furthermore, they are classified as single-base, double base or triple base powders. Smokeless powder consists of nitrocellulose,(single-base powders), usually combined with up to 50 percent nitroglycerin (double-base powders), and sometimes nitroglycerin and nitroguanidine (triple-base) added into small spherical balls.
Hodgdon H4350 Smokeless Powder
H4350 is an extruded propellant which burning speed has been known to shooters for decades. Over time, Hodgdon has modernized H4350 by shortening the grains for improved metering and making it insensitive to hot/cold temperatures. Hodgdon H4350 smokeless powder is great in cartridges such as the 243 Winchester, 6mm Remington, 270 Winchester, 338 Winchester, Magnum and many more.
Hodgdon H1000 Smokeless Powder
Hodgdon Powder offers the largest selection of quality smokeless propellants for any reloading application. Hodgdon H1000 Smokeless Powder is a very slow burning Extreme Extruded powder is perfect for highly overbored magnums like the 7mm Remington Magnum, 7mm STW and the 30-378 Weatherby. In addition, with heavy bullets, H1000 gives top velocity and performance in such cartridges as the 6mm-284, 257 Weatherby, 270 Winchester, and 300 Winchester Magnum.
Smokeless powder burns merely on the surfaces of the granules, flakes or cylinders – described as granules for short. It has often seen that larger granules burn more slowly, and the burn rate is later controlled by flame-deterrent coatings which retard burning slightly. Its aim is to regulate the burn rate so that a more or less constant pressure is exerted on the propelled projectile as long as it is in the barrel so as to obtain the highest velocity.
With the largest granules, Cannon powder ensure long use. The perforations stabilize the burn rate because as the outside burns inward and the inside is burning outward. Fast-burning pistol powders are made by extruding shapes with more area such as flakes or by flattening the spherical granules. As far as its drying is concerned, they are usually performed under a vacuum. The solvents are condensed and recycled and the granules are well coated with graphite to prevent static electricity sparks from causing unwanted ignitions.
