Ignition Reaction Research Articles

In situ iron coating of amorphous boron and characterization of its energy release behavior

Boron was widely employed as metal fuel in solid propellants for its higher gravimetric and volumetric combustion enthalpies. However, the low melting point and high boiling point of B2O3 on the surface of boron particles significantly hinder its ignition and combustion performance, seriously preventing the full realization of its thermodynamic potential. To address this issue, B@Fe composite fuels with different iron contents from 1.59 % to 7.09 % were prepared via liquid phase reduction in this paper and the quasi-static high temperature oxidation, ignition and combustion reaction characteristics and corresponding mechanism were studied, in order to provide effective modification techniques in supporting the large-scale engineering application of boron as metal fuel. The study results show that B@Fe can effectively reduce the ignition temperature and maximum heat flow temperature of amorphous boron, and increase the maximum mass gain rate. The ignition temperature and maximum heat flow temperature have an exponential function with the iron coating content. Iron coated amorphous boron can effectively shorten the laser ignition delay time by more than 50 %, and significantly change the flame structure, flame evolution process and combustion duration. Both amorphous boron and iron-coated amorphous boron flame showed a multi-layer structure, including the outer green flame, the middle yellow flame and the central incandescent flame. However, with the increase of the iron coating content, the flame height increased from 5.5 cm to 6.3 cm, the flame structure changed from mushroom type to triangle type, and the central incandescent flame area increased significantly. The equivalent combustion duration increased from 975 ms to 1997 ms, and the flame temperature increased from 1288 to 1505 °C. The emission spectra of BO2 and BO lines are captured during combustion. B@Fe with the increase of iron content, a large number of small diameter micropores appear in the condensed combustion products(CCPs) of composite fuels, and a grid-like structure was formed. With the increase of iron coating content, the boron content of condensed combustion products decreases, and the oxygen content increases. The main components of CCP include B, B2O3, B6O, FeB, Fe2B and Fe3B. Based on the ignition combustion experiment of B@Fe composite fuel, ignition combustion analysis model of B@Fe composite fuel was established.

Stage-wise kinetic analysis of ammonia addition effects on two-stage ignition in dimethyl ether

Abstract Ammonia (NH3) has gained considerable attention as a promising carbon-free hydrogen carrier fuel for internal combustion engines, but its direct use in compression-ignition engines presents challenges, often requiring high-reactivity fuels to ignite the premixed NH3/air mixture and initiate combustion. This study focuses on the ignition process of binary NH3 and dimethyl ether (DME) mixtures, as DME is a carbon-neutral, high-reactivity fuel. A key novelty of this paper is the comparison of the ignition processes of DME and NH3/DME mixtures from a temporal, process-oriented perspective, analyzing chemical kinetics across distinct ignition phases rather than focusing solely on instantaneous reactions at discrete time points. The stage-wise analysis reveals that NH3 has minimal impact on the control mechanism governing the two-stage ignition process of DME. Specifically, DME still largely depends on OH radical proliferation during low-temperature oxidation (LTO), which releases heat as the reaction progresses. As the temperature increases, LTO branching pathways gradually shift to chain-propagation pathways, reducing overall reaction activity. The reactivity and temperature rise rate of the system are then governed by the H2O2 loop mechanism before thermal ignition. However, ammonia significantly extends the ignition delay of DME by competing with OH radicals, which are critical for DME oxidation, thus inhibiting ignition. As the ignition reaction proceeds, ammonia kinetics become more involved. For example, nitrogen-containing species from NH3 oxidation, such as NO, NO2, and NH2, react with CH3OCH2 to form CH3OCHO, reducing the flux through the LTO pathway of DME. While ammonia reaction pathways also produce OH radicals, this occurs at the expense of HO2 and H radicals, leading to H2O2 formation. Overall, these findings demonstrate the substantial impact of ammonia addition on DME ignition, highlighting the need for further research to better understand NH3/DME binary fuel ignition and to optimize the design and operation of NH3/DME dual-fuel engines for improved efficiency and reliability.

Delivering laser performance conditions to enable fusion ignition, and beyond at the National Ignition Facility

On December 5th, 2022, controlled fusion ignition was demonstrated for the first time at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), a major achievement in the field of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) requiring a multi-decadal effort involving broad national and international collaborations. To drive the fusion ignition reaction with the compressed fuel capsule, that yielded 3.15 MJ of nuclear energy [1], the NIF laser delivered a high-precision pulse shape with 2.05 MJ of ultra-violet (UV) laser energy and a peak power of 440 TW. This laser energy was an increase of ∼8 % compared to that delivered on the previous “threshold of ignition” record yield experiment (1.37 MJ of yield for 1.89 MJ of laser energy) on August 8th, 2021 [2].We explain how the results of our extensive research in laser technology and UV optics damage mitigation led to major improvements in the NIF laser, enabling this energy increase along with additional accuracy, precision, and power balance enhancements. Furthermore, we will discuss on-going efforts that have enabled operations at 2.2 MJ of UV energy as well as potential new initiatives to push the laser performance –accuracy and delivered energy– to even higher levels in the future as previously demonstrated on a small subset of NIF beams [3].

Constructing the combination bridge of aluminum hydride (AlH3) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) through the self-assembly of dopamine: Improving the stability and ignition properties of AlH3

Surface coating is an important method to solve the poor stability of aluminum hydride (AlH3). To overcome the difficulty of uneven coating of fluorine-containing polymers on the surface of AlH3, this study utilizes the adhesion properties of polydopamine (PDA) to establish a bridge between the oxide layer of AlH3 (Al2O3) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), so that Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was uniformly coated on the AlH3 surface, and a dual-core shell structure AlH3@PDA@PVDF composite was successfully prepared. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal significantly higher binding energy per unit area for γ-Al2O3@PDA/PVDF (1.2270 Kcal·mol−1·Å−2) compared to γ-Al2O3/PVDF (0.6644 Kcal·mol−1·Å−2), affirming that PDA can effectively enhance the interfacial interaction between AlH3 and PVDF. The morphology characterization and performance testing of raw AlH3 and AlH3@PDA@PVDF composite were carried out through SEM, XPS, FT-IR, DSC, VST, etc. The results indicate that through the interface modification of AlH3 by PDA, PVDF with a hydrophobic surface can be evenly coated on the surface of AlH3, causing the water contact angle (WCA) of the AlH3@PDA@PVDF composite to increase from 41° for the raw AlH3 to 124°. Furthermore, the total decomposition time of the AlH3@PDA@PVDF composite (2326 min) is improved by 1.8 times than that of the raw sample (1277 min), and its apparent activation energy (117.75 kJ·mol−1) was also higher than that of the raw sample (99.88 kJ·mol−1), indicating that coating with PDA and PVDF can improve the stability of AlH3. Ignition experiments demonstrate that the AlH3@PDA@PVDF composite has superior ignition reaction performance compared with the raw AlH3. Especially, adding a small amount of AlH3@PDA@PVDF composite can also significantly catalyze the thermal decomposition process of ammonium perchlorate (AP), reducing its high-temperature decomposition temperature from 405.37 °C to 352.20 °C.

Discharge and ignition mechanism of high-entropy alloy induced by crack propagation under quasi-static compressive load

In order to reveal the discharge and ignition mechanism of high-entropy alloy under quasi-static compression load, the stress, potential and ignition evolution process of high-entropy alloy with prefabricated cracks were tested. The atomic structure and dislocation evolution of high-entropy alloy during crack propagation and compression were determined by molecular dynamics simulation, and the discharge mechanism of crack tip was analyzed at the micro level. Based on the calculation of Gibbs free energy, the products in the ignition reaction process were predicted. The results of mechanical/thermal/electrical characteristics induced by compressive load show that the discharge usually occurs near the ignition moment of specimen fracture, and the maximum potential signal can reach 34.2 V. The formation of crack group, crack propagation, local stress concentration, charge accumulation and release at the crack tip jointly induce the generation of discharge signals. With the propagation of cracks, a large number of stacking faults appear and a diamond-shaped failure zone is formed. The increase of disordered atoms leads to fracture. During the compression process, a large number of dislocations induce the separation of charges, which aggravates the discharge at the crack tip. In the Hf-Zr-Ti-Ta-Nb-Cu high-entropy alloy system, the reaction product Ta2O5 is preferentially generated, while in the Ti–Zr-Hf-Cu system, Ti2O3 is preferentially generated. The tip discharge and chemical bond fracture during crack propagation induce ignition, and the chemical bond recombines with energy release.

Improvement of the Ignition Performance and Reaction Rate of Boron by Surface Modification

Improvement of the Ignition Performance and Reaction Rate of Boron by Surface Modification

Ignition Delay and Reaction Time Measurements of Hydrogen–Air Mixtures at High Temperatures

Induction and reaction times of hydrogen–air mixtures (ϕ = 0.5–2) have been measured behind reflected shock waves at temperatures of 1000–1600 K, pressures of 0.1, 0.3, 0.6 MPa in the domain of the extended second explosion limit. The measurements were performed in the shock tube with a completely transparent test section of 0.5 m long, which provides pressure, ion current, OH and high-speed chemiluminescence observations. The experimental induction time plots demonstrate a clear increasing of the global activation energy from high- to low temperature post-shock conditions. This trend is strongly pronounced at higher post-shock pressures. For a high-temperature range of T > 1200 K, induction time measurements show an activation energy for the global reaction rate of hydrogen oxidation of 64–83 kJ/mole. Detected reaction times exhibit a big scatter and a weak temperature dependence. The minimum reaction time value was nearly 2 µs. Obtained induction time data were compared with calculations carried out in accordance with the known kinetic mechanisms. For current and former shock-tube experiments within a pressure range of 0.1–2 MPa, critical temperatures required for strong (1000–1100 K), transient and weak auto-ignition modes behind reflected shock waves were identified by means of the pressure and ion-probe measurements in stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixture. The transfer from the strong volumetric self-ignition near the reflecting wall to the hot spot ignition (transient) was established and visualized below <1200 K with a post-shock temperature decreasing.

CSPlib: A performance portable parallel software toolkit for analyzing complex kinetic mechanisms

Computational singular perturbation (CSP) is a method to analyze dynamical systems. It targets the decoupling of fast and slow dynamics using an alternate linear expansion of the right-hand side of the governing equations based on eigenanalysis of the associated Jacobian matrix. This representation facilitates diagnostic analysis, detection and control of stiffness, and the development of simplified models. We have implemented CSP in a C++ open-source library CSPlib1 using the Kokkos2 parallel programming model to address portability across diverse heterogeneous computing platforms, i.e., multi/many-core CPUs and GPUs. We describe the CSPlib implementation and present its computational performance across different computing platforms using several test problems. Specifically, we test the CSPlib performance for a constant pressure ignition reactor model on different architectures, including IBM Power 9, Intel Xeon Skylake, and NVIDIA V100 GPU. The size of the chemical kinetic mechanism is varied in these tests. As expected, the Jacobian matrix evaluation, the eigensolution of the Jacobian matrix, and matrix inversion are the most expensive computational tasks. When considering the higher throughput characteristic of GPUs, GPUs performs better for small matrices with higher occupancy rate. CPUs gain more advantages from the higher performance of well-tuned and optimized linear algebra libraries such as OpenBLAS. Program summaryProgram Title: CSPlibCPC Library link to program files:https://doi.org/10.17632/p9gb7z54sp.1Developer's repository link:https://github.com/sandialabs/csplibLicensing provisions: BSD 2-clauseProgramming language: C++Nature of problem: Dynamical systems can involve coupled processes with a wide range of time scales. The computational singular perturbation (CSP) method offers a reformulation of these systems which enables the use of dynamically-based diagnostic tools to better comprehend the dynamics by decoupling fast and slow processes. CSPlib is an open-source software library for analyzing general ordinary differential equation (ODE) and differential algebraic equation (DAE) systems, with specialized implementations for detailed chemical kinetic ODE/DAE systems. It relies on CSP for the analysis of these systems. CSPlib has been used in gas kinetic and heterogeneous catalytic kinetic models.Solution method: CSP analysis seeks a set of basis vectors to linearly decompose the right-hand side (RHS) of a dynamical system in a manner that decouples fast and slow processes. The CSP basis vectors are often well approximated with the right eigenvectors of the RHS Jacobian. And the left basis vectors are found by the inversion of the matrix, whose columns are the CSP basis vectors. Accordingly, the right and left CSP basis vectors are orthonormal. CSP defines mode amplitudes as the projections of the left basis vectors on the RHS; the time scales as the reciprocals of the RHS Jacobian eigenvalue magnitudes; and the CSP pointers, which are the element-wise multiplication of the transpose of the right CSP basis vectors with the left CSP basis vectors. For kinetic models that can be cast as the product of a generalized stoichiometric matrix and a rate of progress vector, CSP defines the participation index, which represents the contribution of a chemical reaction to each mode. Further, it defines the slow and fast importance indices, which describe the contribution of a chemical reaction to the slow and fast dynamics of a state variable, respectively. These indices are useful in diagnostic studies of dynamical systems and the construction of simplified models.Additional comments including restrictions and unusual features: CSPlib is a portable library that carries out many CSP analyses in parallel and can be used in modern high-performance platforms.

Chemical reaction analysis of auto-ignition behavior for mixed fuel of cyclopentane and paraffin

Knocking due to auto-ignition of fuel greatly hinders the performance enhancement of gasoline engines. Since general gasoline is a mixture of many substances, its knock resistance depends largely on the combination of substances contained. Therefore, it is important to comprehend the chemical reaction process up to ignition in mixed fuels. This study performed various analyses of the detailed chemical reaction process for the case where cyclopentane, a representative of naphthene, is mixed with paraffin. The main purpose of this analysis is to discover a mechanism that enhances the antiknock effect by combining fuels. Analysis of the detailed reaction process suggests that in some cases cyclopentane suppresses the subsequent reactions by consuming the OH produced by paraffin during the initial low temperature oxidation. Therefore, mixing cyclopentane into paraffin greatly extends the ignition delay time by suppressing the subsequent exothermic reactions. When added in a low fraction, the ignition suppression effect exceeds that of the general octane booster toluene. On the other hand, analysis of the detailed reaction process under high mixing ratio conditions showed that cyclopentane has an ignition promotion effect. The reason for this phenomenon is that cyclopentane lowers the ignition temperature because it accumulates a large amount of H2O2 as an intermediate product after the initial reactions. Furthermore, H2O2 advances the ignition reactions by generating OH in the subsequent reactions. Additionally, due to the changing behavior of the low-temperature oxidation reaction, the effect of cyclopentane mixing also changes with the temperature range. In other words, cyclopentane has the opposing effects of suppressing and promoting ignition, which results in a complicated phenomenon that changes depending on the mixing ratio with paraffin and temperature.

Effects of K2SiF6 on Ignition and Heat Release Characteristic of Nano-Sized Aluminum Powders

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effect of potassium fluosilicate (K2SiF6) on the ignition and heat release characteristics of n-Al50, n-Al100, and n-Al800. It is found that K2SiF6 can effectively improve the ignition and heat release characteristics of nano-aluminum powder (n-Al). This is because K2SiF6 effectively increases the reaction rate. The heat release characteristics of the n-Al/K2SiF6 mixture are improved as the particle size of aluminum powder decreases and the heating rate increases. However, when the particle size reaches a certain level, the enhancement effect will become smaller and smaller. The study revealed that the addition of K2SiF6 influences the ignition delay time, reaction, and combustion products of the n-Al/K2SiF6 mixture. A small amount of K2SiF6 can greatly reduce the ignition delay time of nano-aluminum powder. With the increase of K2SiF6 content, the ignition delay time of n-Al50 decreases first and then increases, while the ignition delay time of n-Al100 and n-Al800 decreases continuously but the extent of this reduction progressively diminishes. The morphology and composition of the combustion products were analyzed. This paper found that K2SiF6 fluorinates the oxidized shell of aluminum, thereby promoting its ignition and combustion. The influence mechanism of K2SiF6 on n-Al ignition in air is discussed.

Study of antiprotons as drivers in inertial confinement fusion by fast ignition method

Inertial confinement fusion is a promising approach to achieve controlled nuclear fusion for clean and abundant energy production. One of the key challenges in Inertial confinement fusion is achieving efficient ignition of the fusion fuel. Fast ignition offers a potential solution to this challenge by using an ultra-high intensity laser or a charged particle beam to directly ignite a pre-compressed fusion fuel. In this manuscript, we propose an approach for fast ignition in ICF, utilizing an antiproton beam to drive ignition in a deuteron-tritium fuel with a uranium-238 seed. The use of antiproton beams in Inertial confinement fusion offers unique advantages, including their ability to deposit energy deeply into the fuel, leading to enhanced energy coupling and heating. The addition of uranium-238 as a seed material in the fuel can further improve ignition conditions by enhancing energy deposition and facilitating ignition reactions. We present detailed simulations and analyses to demonstrate the feasibility and potential benefits of this approach. We investigate the effects of antiproton beam parameters, such as energy, intensity, and pulse duration, on ignition conditions, as well as the impact of uranium-238 seed concentration and distribution in the fuel. Our results show that fast ignition driven by an antiproton beam in DT with uranium-238 seed has the potential to significantly improve ignition performance in Inertial confinement fusion, leading to enhanced energy output and higher gain. The use of antiproton beams allows for efficient energy deposition and heating of the fuel, while the inclusion of uranium-238 seed promotes ignition reactions and improves ignition conditions. This concept presents a promising pathway towards achieving practical and efficient ignition in Inertial confinement fusion, and could pave the way for next-generation fusion power plants.

Energy evolution mechanism of a PVDF activated nano-aluminum based metastable intermixed composites

The preparation and energy release mechanism of highly reactive n-Al/F-polymer metastable intermixed composites are both desirable and challenging. In this study, we employed an optimized electrospray sampling strategy to significantly enhance the reaction activity of aluminum-based MICs, as well as their combustion performance. It is evident that the optimization of the sampling strategy yielded remarkable results. Compared to the physical mixture, MICs-1 exhibited a 7.2-fold and 9.9-fold increase in Pmax and Pmax/Δt, respectively. The combustion rate experienced an 8.5-fold improvement, and the energy release efficiency rose from 52.18 % to 68.11 %. An analysis of the energy evolution mechanism reveals a mitigation of the reactive sintering phenomenon observed in MICs-1. The presence of PVDF facilitates the reactivity of aluminum powders by selectively corroding the alumina shell. The reaction kinetics parameters indicate that MICs-1 demonstrates characteristic three-step reaction behavior and exhibits a lower reaction energy barrier. Furthermore, ReaxFF molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate the adsorption and dissociation of PVDF on the surface of aluminum powders, leading to erosion defects in the alumina crystal structure. These defects, in turn, induce the ignition reaction.

Accelerating Chemical Kinetics Calculations With Physics Informed Neural Networks

Abstract Detailed chemical kinetics calculations can be very computationally expensive, and so various approaches have been used to speed up combustion calculations. Deep neural networks (DNNs) are one promising approach that has seen significant development recently. Standard DNNs, however, do not necessarily follow physical constraints such as conservation of mass. Physics Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) are a class of neural networks that have physical laws embedded within the training process to create networks that follow those physical laws. A new PINN-based DNN approach to chemical kinetics modeling has been developed to make sure mass fraction predictions adhere to the conservation of atomic species. The approach also utilizes a mixture-of-experts (MOE) architecture where the data is distributed on multiple subnetworks followed by a softmax selective layer. The MOE architecture allows the different subnetworks to specialize in different thermochemical regimes, such as early stage ignition reactions or post-flame equilibrium chemistry, then the softmax layer smoothly transitions between the subnetwork predictions. This modeling approach was applied to the prediction of methane-air combustion using the GRI-Mech 3.0 as the reference mechanism. The training database was composed of data from 0D ignition delay simulations under initial conditions of 0.2–50 bar pressure, 500–2000 K temperature, an equivalence ratio between 0 and 2, and an N2-dilution percentage of up to 50%. A wide variety of network sizes and architectures of between 3 and 20 subnetworks and 6,600 to 77,000 neurons were tested. The resulting networks were able to predict 0D combustion simulations with similar accuracy and atomic mass conservation as standard kinetics solvers while having a 10-50× speedup in online evaluation time using CPUs, and on average over 200× when using a GPU.

Study on the ignition and combustion energy release behavior and mechanism of energetic perovskite DAP-4 and typical solid fuels

Development of novel high-energy and strong-oxidization oxidizer towards tailoring the energy releasing performance of solid fuel is still a great challenge. In this work, energetic molecular perovskite (H2dabco)[NH4(ClO4)3] (DAP-4) was considered as a novel oxidizer to tailor energy releasing performance of solid fuel magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), and silicon (Si). The solid fuel-based composite with DAP-4 as oxidizer were characterized by the excellent energy releasing properties. The combustion heat value of Mg/DAP-4, Al/DAP-4 and Si/DAP-4 was 11020 J/g, 10410 J/g and 9330 J/g, respectively. Their flame spread rates of mixtures were 31.7, 98.0, and 14.4 mm/s, respectively, and the solid fuel-based composite with F2602 as binder also showed associated burning rates. The flame spread rates of Mg/DAP-4/F, Al/DAP-4/F, and Si/DAP-4/F composites were 12.50, 18.56, and 6.38 mm/s, respectively. The ignition and combustion energy releasing reaction mechanism of solid fuel-based composite with DAP-4 as oxidizer was proposed. This work offered a proof of concept that energetic molecular perovskite had great potential as oxidizer towards the utilization for solid propellant.

The microscopic structure deformation and vibration spectra resolving of β-HMX under high temperature:A theoretical study based on AIMD simulation

The phase transition mechanism is always the challenge in energetic material fields, but it is crucial for understanding the microscopic ignition and detonation reaction performance. Here, we investigate the phase transition process of β-HMX under high temperature, using ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. The microscopic structure deformation and corresponding spectral characteristic is systematically studied. The corresponding relationship between microscopic structure and spectral signal is established through the partial spectra calculation. The results show that the equatorial CN bonds and axial NN bonds of HMX molecule have the most obvious shrinkage. It is the fundamental origination for the deformation of molecular ring and N-NO2 group, which would further induce the initial phase transition. The axial N-NO2 group plays the major role both in the β → α and β → δ phase transitions, while the deformation of equatorial NO2 group also closely affects the β → δ phase transition.

Study on Ignition Delay and Reaction Mechanism of RP-3/Air Combustion Adding C6F12O.

RP-3 jet fuel is the main fuel for aircraft in China, and it is also a source of fire. C6F12O (Novec 1230) has an outstanding fire extinguishing performance and minimal environmental impacts. In this study, the application of C6F12O in the inhibition of RP-3 jet fuel fire was considered, and the ignition delay time (IDT) of C6F12O/air and RP-3/air adding C6F12O was measured using a shock tube. In addition, the results showed that the IDT of C6F12O was 500-900 μs and less sensitive to temperature compared with those of common fuels in the range of 1150-1958 K, and the influence of C6F12O on the IDT of RP-3 jet fuel was influenced by many factors including temperature, the concentration of C6F12O, and the stoichiometric ratio of RP-3 jet fuel. According to the experimental results, the mechanism of C6F12O was verified and modified, and then integrated with the mechanisms of RP-3 jet fuel; the integrated mechanism can well predict the IDT of C6F12O/air and RP-3/air adding C6F12O. This work provides a good basis for the chemical kinetics analysis of the inhibition of RP-3 jet fuel combustion by C6F12O.

Research on ignition and reaction characteristic of PTFE-based reactive materials

In order to study the ignition characteristic of PTFE-based reactive materials (RMs), Al/W/PTFE RMs with different W powder contents were prepared and split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) test was carried out under different loading conditions. The temperature rise of three RMs were calculated theoretically. The material model parameters of the three formulations were calculated by using the mixture equation of state theory and Johnson-cook model, and the impact process was numerically simulated by using AUTODYN dynamics software. The results showed that the Al/PTFE (26.5/73.5) formula material has ignition reaction when the impact speed is 27.47m/s, and Al/W/PTFE (7.94/45.33/46.73) formula material is 28.68m/s. Al/W/PTFE (5.29/80/14.71) only has weak ignition reaction under experimental conditions. The ignition reaction of RMs is related to the impact temperature rise. Under the impact condition, local high temperature induced ignition occurred at the crack of RMs.With the increase of W powder content, the overall temperature rise of RMs decreased, and the reaction degree of RMs decreased.

Effect of CF on mechanical properties and ignition characteristics of Al/PTFE reactive materials under quasi-static compressive

The chopped carbon fiber (CF) was introduced into Al (aluminum) /PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) reactive materials, and Al/CF/PTFE reactive materials with different mass fractions of CF were prepared. In order to study the effect of CF on the mechanical properties and ignition characteristics of Al/PTFE reactive materials, quasi-static compression tests were carried out on different types of specimens. The fracture characteristics of the specimens were observed by SEM, and the ignition mechanism was analyzed by crack-induced hot spots. The results show that yield strength and elastic modulus increase while compressive strength and yield strain decrease with increasing CF mass fraction. The decrease in interfacial adhesion between CF and PTFE matrix, uneven load transfer of CF during compression and stress concentration lead to the decrease of mechanical properties of the material. The decrease of compressive strength of Al/CF/PTFE material and the failure of crack tip without ductile brittle transition are the main factors for the non ignition reaction in quasi-static compression. CF did not improve the quasi-static pressure properties of Al/PTFE, but decreased the quasi-static pressure sensitivity.

Numerical simulation study on the slow cook-off response characteristics of PBX explosive

The zero order reaction kinetic model was used to simulate the heating of energetic binder PBX charge at four heating rates of 3.3K/h, 6K/h, 9K/h and 30K/h, respectively. The key parameters such as the evolution of temperature field, ignition time, ignition temperature and ignition area were obtained. The results show that during the slow Cook-off process of energetic binder PBX explosive charge, before the thermal decomposition and acceleration reaction, it is a heat conduction process, with large internal temperature gradient, low charge center temperature and high charge edge temperature; When the temperature rises to 396K, the thermal decomposition rate of the explosive increases, and heat accumulation occurs in the charge; The ignition position of charges with different heating rates changes. With the increase of heating rates, the ignition position changes from a point in the center to two points on the axis that gradually move away from the center to both ends, and then to four points that gradually move away from the axis to four end angles. Finally, the ignition reaction occurs.

Investigation of high rate mechanical flow followed by ignition for high-energy propellant under dynamic extrusion loading

Investigating the ignition response of nitrate ester plasticized polyether (NEPE) propellant under dynamic extrusion loading is of great significant at least for two cases. Firstly, it helps to understand the mechanism and conditions of unwanted ignition inside charged propellant under accident stimulus. Secondly, evaluates the risk of a shell crevice in a solid rocket motor (SRM) under a falling or overturning scene. In the present study, an innovative visual crevice extrusion experiment is designed using a drop-weight apparatus. The dynamic responses of NEPE propellant during extrusion loading, including compaction and compression, rapid shear flow into the crevice, stress concentration, and ignition reaction, have been firstly observed using a high-performance high-speed camera. The ignition reaction is observed in the triangular region of the NEPE propellant sample above the crevice when the drop weight velocity was 1.90 m/s. Based on the user material subroutine interface UMAT provided by finite element software LS-DYNA, a viscoelastic-plastic model and dual ignition criterion related to plastic shear dissipation are developed and applied to the local ignition response analysis under crevice extrusion conditions. The stress concentration occurs in the crevice location of the propellant sample, the shear stress is relatively large, the effective plastic work is relatively large, and the ignition reaction is easy to occur. When the sample thickness decreases from 5 mm to 2.5 mm, the shear stress increases from 22.3 MPa to 28.6 MPa, the critical value of effective plastic work required for ignition is shortened from 1280 μs to 730 μs, and the triangular area is easily triggering an ignition reaction. The propellant sample with a small thickness is more likely to stress concentration, resulting in large shear stress and effective work, triggering an ignition reaction.