Combustion of Nanoscale Al/MoO3 Thermite in Microchannels

Microscale combustion is of interest in small-volume energy-demanding systems, such as power supplies, actuation, ignition, and propulsion. Energetic materials can have high burning rates that make these materials advantageous, especially for microscale applications in which the rate of energy relea...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Son, S F, Asay, B W, Foley, T J, Yetter, R A, Wu, M H, Risha, G A
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
ACRYLIC RESINS
ACTUATION
ALUMINUM
Ammunition and Explosives
BURNING RATE
CHANNELS
COMBUSTION
Combustion and Ignition
COMPUTATIONS
CONVECTION
DIAMETERS
ENERGETIC PROPERTIES
EQUILIBRIUM(GENERAL)
FORWARD AREAS
GASES
HEATING
HIGH RATE
HIGH TEMPERATURE
IGNITION
LIQUIDS
MATERIALS
MICROCHANNEL PLATES
MICROCHANNELS
MIXTURES
MOLYBDENUM COMPOUNDS
NANOSTRUCTURES
OPTIMIZATION
OXIDES
Physical Chemistry
POWER SUPPLIES
PROPAGATION
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
QUARTZ
RATES
RATIOS
REACTANTS(CHEMISTRY)
RECTANGULAR BODIES
RELEASE
REPRINTS
SCALE
STEEL
THERMITE
TUBES
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Summary:Microscale combustion is of interest in small-volume energy-demanding systems, such as power supplies, actuation, ignition, and propulsion. Energetic materials can have high burning rates that make these materials advantageous, especially for microscale applications in which the rate of energy release is important or in which air is not available as an oxidizer. In this study we examine the combustion of mixtures of nanoscale aluminum with molybdenum trioxide in microscale channels. Nanoscale composites can have very high burning rates that are much higher than typical materials. Quartz and acrylic tubes are used. Rectangular steel microchannels are also considered. We find that the optimum mixture ratio for the maximum propagation rate is aluminum rich. We use equilibrium calculations to argue that the propagation rate is dominated by a convective process where hot liquids and gases are propelled forward heating the reactants. This is the first study to report the dependence of the propagation rate with a tube diameter for this class of materials.Wefind that the propagation rate decreases linearly with 1=d. The propagation rate remains high in tubes or channels with dimensions down to the scale of 100 m, which makes these materials applicable to microcombustion applications. Published in Journal of Propulsion and Power, v23 n4 p715-721, July-August 2007. Sponsored in part by DOE.