Analysis of self-propagating intermetallic reaction in nanoscale multilayers of binary metals

Abstract

Nanoscale multilayers of two different metals could exhibit super-fast intermetallic reaction wave that accompanies high level of exothermic heat release, while additional advantage is a very small ignition delay. They could be a promising candidate for the core technology in realizing micron-sized initiation device for explosives detonation or propellants ignition in various defense and civilian applications. This numerical investigation focuses on the numerical modeling and computations of the ignition and self-propagating reaction behaviors in nanoscale intermetallic multilayer structures made of alternating binary metal layers of boron and titanium. Due to thin film nature of metallic multilayers, intermetallic reaction propagation across the repeating bimetallic multilayers is approximated to the one-dimensional transient model of thermal diffusion and atomic species diffusion, and the intermetallic reaction between two metal species is assumed to follow Arrhenius dependence on temperature. The computational results show the details of ignition and propagation characteristics of intermetallic reaction wave by evaluating and discussing the effects of key parameters, such as multilayer thickness, excess of one metal species, and presence of atomic premixing at interface of boron and titanium layers, on ignition delay and propagation speed of self-sustaining reaction wave.