Ignition and combustion of high-energy materials containing aluminum, boron and aluminum diboride

Alexander Korotkikh,Ivan Sorokin,Ekaterina Selikhova,G.V Kuznetsov,E Bulba,D Feoktistov

doi:10.1051/matecconf/201819401055

Abstract

Boron and its compounds are among the most promising metal fuel components to be used in solid propellants for solid fuel rocket engine and ramjet engine. Papers studying boron oxidation mostly focus on two areas: oxidation of single particles and powders of boron, as well as boron-containing composite solid propellants. This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the ignition and combustion of the high-energy material samples based on ammonium perchlorate, ammonium nitrate, and an energetic combustible binder. Powders of aluminum, amorphous boron and aluminum diboride, obtained by the SHS method, were used as the metallic fuels. It was found that the use of aluminum diboride in the solid propellant composition makes it possible to reduce the ignition delay time by 1.7–2.2 times and significantly increase the burning rate of the sample (by 4.8 times) as compared to the solid propellant containing aluminum powder. The use of amorphous boron in the solid propellant composition leads to a decrease in the ignition delay time of the sample by a factor of 2.2–2.8 due to high chemical activity and a difference in the oxidation mechanism of boron particles. The burning rate of this sample does not increase significantly.

Highlights

Boron is one of the most promising metals for rocket fuels due to high specific combustion heat value
Devoted to the investigation of boron oxidation processes articles are mainly represented in literature by three types of works: the study on the oxidation of single particles [4, 5] and boron powders [6,7,8,9], as well as boron-containing composite fuels [9, 10]
We present the results of the experimental study of the ignition, combustion and corresponding surface temperature of the high-energy material samples based on ammonium perchlorate, ammonium nitrate and an energetic combustion binder with various types of boride powders

Summary

Introduction

Boron is one of the most promising metals for rocket fuels due to high specific combustion heat value (among the highest per unit of mass and the maximum possible per unit of volume [1]). Its application is significantly complicated by the fact that inert layer of boron is formed on the surface of boron particles during storage and combustion. It prevents the access of oxidizer [2] to pure boron, significantly reduces the ignition time and combustion of particles [3]. Numerous studies presented in literature on the characteristics of boron propellants ignition and combustion with different particle size [11], binder (most commonly used NH4ClO4, KNO3) and the ratio of fuel to oxidizer [12]. % in the fuel the linear burning rate and the surface temperature of the sample increase with the pressure dependence form close to linear [9] It was established that with an increase in the pressure and content of boron particles to 20 mass. % in the fuel the linear burning rate and the surface temperature of the sample increase with the pressure dependence form close to linear [9]

Methods

Results

Conclusion