The need to survey the stability and compatibility of explosives in general and propellants in particular is beyond discussion.

During the more than 100 years that nitrocellulose has been in use as a propellant, an enormous number of tests have been devised to survey its stability. The majority of these tests are rather simple and empirical in nature. During the last decade or so, however, modern analytical methods have been introduced in the explosives field, and are often used in parallel with older methods. Modern methods give real information about the components studied, but the translation of the result into terms of stability, compatibility and remaining stable life of the complex mixture of ingredients in a propellant is no easy task.