Shock-induced solid-state chemical reactivity studies using time-resolved radiation pyrometry

Abstract

Time-resolved radiation pyrometry has been used to study materials which undergo solid-state chemical reactions due to shock loading. Shock-induced chemical reactivity in solids is fundamentally different than that in high explosives and other energetic materials because, if no volatiles are present, the reaction products end up in the condensed, rather than the vapor, state. Bulk property changes accompanying the solid-state reactions may therefore be too small to be observable with wave profile or shock-velocity measurements. However, some solid-state reactions, such as that between metallic nickel and aluminum, are exothermic enough to give rise to a measurable increase in temperature, so pyrometry can be used to detect the reactions. Unfortunately, these measurements are complicated by the large temperature increases generated by other sources. Possible mechanisms for generation of these high temperatures, and their effect on the chemical reaction, are suggested