Combustion characteristic and aging behavior of bimetal thermite powders

Nanothermites have been employed as fuel additives in energetic formulations due to their higher energy density over CHNO energetics. Nevertheless, sintering and degradation of nanoparticles significantly limit the practical use of nanothermites. In this work, combustion characteristic and aging behavior of aluminum/iron oxide(Al/Fe2O3) nanothermite mixtures were investigated in the presence of micron-scale nickel aimed to produce bimetal thermite powders. The results showed that the alumina content in the combustion residue increased from 88.3% for Al/Fe2O3 nanothermite to 96.5% for the nanothermite mixture containing 20 wt% nickel. Finer particle sizes of combustion residue were obtained for the nanothermite mixtures containing nickel, indicative of the reduced agglomeration. Both results suggested a more complete combustion in the bimetal thermite powders. Aging behavior of the nanothermite mixture was also assessed by measuring the heat of combustion of the mixture before and after aging process. The reduction in heat of combustion of nanothermite mixtures containing nickel was less severe as compared to a significant decrease for the nanothermite mixture without nickel, indicating better aging resistance of the bimetal thermite powders.

Tuning the reactivity of Al-Ni by fine coating of halogen-containing energetic composites

In this paper,various core-shell structured Al—Ni@ECs composites have been prepared by a spray-drying technique.The involved ECs refer to the energetic composites(ECs)of ammonium perchlorate/nitrocellulose(AP/NC,NA)and polyvinylidene fluoride/hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane(PVDF/CL-20,PC).Two Al—Ni mixtures were prepared at atomic ratios of 1:1 and 1:3 and named as Al/Ni and Al/3Ni,respectively.The thermal reactivity and combustion behaviors of Al—Ni@ECs composites have been comprehensively investigated.Results showed that the reactivity and combustion performance of Al—Ni could be enhanced by introducing both NA and PC energetic composites.Among which the Al/Ni@NA composite exhibited higher reactivity and improved combustion performance.The measured flame propagation rate(v=20.6 mm/s),average combustion wave temperature(T_(max)=1567.0°C)and maximum temperature rise rate(γ_(t)=1633.6°C/s)of Al/Ni@NA are higher than that of the Al/Ni(v=15.8 mm/s,T_(max)=858.0°C,andγ_(t)=143.5°C/s).The enhancement in combustion properties could be due to presence of the acidic gaseous products from ECs,which could etch the Al_(2)O_(3)shell on the surface of Al particles,and make the inner active Al to be easier transported,so that an intimate and faster intermetallic reaction between Al and Ni would be realized.Furthermore,the morphologies and chemical compositions of the condensed combustion products(CCPs)of Al—Ni@ECs composites were found to be different depending on the types of ECs.The compositions of CCPs are dominated with the Al—Ni intermetallics,combining with a trace amount of Al_(5)O_(6)N and Al_(2)O_(3).