Dr John Bellerby

Senior Lecturer
Location: Shrivenham campus
E: j.m.bellerby@cranfield.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)1793 785335
Department of Engineering and Applied Science

Current activities

The Development of Time Temperature Indicators for Explosives Stores.

This work is being funded by the Defence Ordnance Safety Group (MoD) and is aimed at producing a simple and inexpensive device that can be attached to a rocket motor to provide an indication of its thermal history and hence the extent of degradation of the propellant grain inside it. The devices are based on nitrocellulose and the work is therefore also providing an insight into the fundamental decomposition behaviour of this important strategic material. It has led to the development of novel non-destructive methods for determining the rate of NC degradation.

Molecular Characterisation of Nitrocellulose.

This work is being funded by AWE plc and is aimed at improving our understanding of the factors that contribute to the mechanical behaviour of nitrocellulose in an explosive formulation or propellant grain. One important factor is the molecular weight of NC and new protocols are being developed for the measurement of this parameter by Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC).

Clients

BAE Systems, Roxel (UK Rocket Motors) Ltd, Aerospace Propulsion Products (NL), dstl,
Defence Ordnance Safety Group, Leafield Engineering Ltd, Nobel Energetics, DTI, Hawkins Associates
AWE plc, Mass Spec Analytical Ltd.

Background

John Bellerby was born and attended school in Cambridge. He obtained a BA in Chemistry from the University of York and a PhD from the University of Cambridge for a thesis entitled ‘Chelating Di-tertiary Phosphine Complexes of Iron’.

After a period teaching at the University of Sierra Leone in West Africa he returned to the UK and embarked on further research at University College Dublin and Strathclyde University.

In 1978 he joined what was then the Propellants, Explosives and Rocket Motors Establishment (PERME) of the Ministry of Defence as a research scientist, working on the chemistry of liquid rocket propellants.

He developed his interest in energetic materials on moving to Cranfield University at RMCS (now Cranfield Defence and Security) in 1985.

He is a Chartered Chemist (CChem) and a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC).

He is an experienced PhD research supervisor and has acted as a PhD external examiner at other universities.

Selected publications

A Ciucci, O Frota, W H M Welland, A E D M van der Heijden, B Leeming, J M Bellerby and A Brotzu, ‘Current state of the art of HNF-based composite propellants’, Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Green Propellants for Space Systems, Sardinia, Italy, 6-10 June 2004.

M R Andrews and J M Bellerby, ‘Development of novel extraction techniques for trace organic explosives’, Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on the Analysis and Detection of Explosives, Ottawa, Canada, 6-10 June 2004.

J M Bellerby and C S Blackman, ‘The interaction between Otto Fuel II and aqueous Hydroxylammonium Perchlorate (HAP), Part I: Initial observations and time-to-event measurements’, Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics, 29, 262-266, 2004.

J M Bellerby and C S Blackman, ‘The interaction between Otto Fuel II and aqueous Hydroxylammonium Perchlorate (HAP), Part II: Gas evolution and changes in HAP solution acidity’, Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics, 29, 354-358, 2004.

J M Bellerby, P R Deacon and P P Gill, ‘Whole life assessment of nitrocellulsose in double base propellants’, Proceedings of 37th International Annual Conference of the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany, 27-30 June 2006.

R I Caro, J M Bellerby and E Kronfli, ‘Synthesis and characterisation of a Hydroxy Terminated Polyether (HTPE) copolymer for use as a binder in composite rocket propellants’, International Journal of Energetic Materials and Chemical Propulsion, 6 (3), 289-306, 2007.

J M Bellerby and S R Ahmad, ‘Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy using metal nano-structured substrates for ultra-sensitive detection’, GIT Laboratory Journal, 1, 2-3, 2007.

J M Bellerby and C S Blackman, ‘The interaction between Otto Fuel II and aqueous Hydroxylammonium Perchlorate (HAP), Part III: Depletion of components within the reacting liquids’, Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics, 32, 222-226, 2007.

R I Caro and J M Bellerby, ‘Behaviour of Hydroxyl-Terminated Polyether (HTPE) composite propellants in slow cook-off’, International Journal of Energetic Materials and Chemical Propulsion, 7 (3), 171-185, 2008.

R I Caro and J M Bellerby, ‘Preparation of Hydroxy Terminated Polyether (HTPE) composite rocket propellants’ Proceedings of 39th International Annual Conference of the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany, 24-27 June 2008.

M Moniruzzaman and J M Bellerby, ‘Use of UV-visible spectroscopy to monitor nitrocellulose degradation in thin films’, Polymer Degradation and Stability, 93, 1067-1072, 2008.

A T Quirk, J M Bellerby, J F Carter, F A Thomas and J C Hill, ‘An initial evaluation of stable isotope characterisation of post-blast plastic debris from improvised explosive devices’, Science and Justice, 49, 87-93, 2009.

R I Caro and J M Bellerby, ‘Characterization and comparison of two hydroxyl-terminated polyether pre-polymers’ International Journal of Energetic Materials and Chemical Propulsion, 9 (4), 351-364, 2010.

M Moniruzzaman, J M Bellerby and N Mai, ‘The effect of light on the viscosity and molecular mass of nitrocellulose’, Polymer Degradation and Stability, 96, 929-935, 2011.