Electric ignition energy evaluation and the energy distribution structure of energy released in electrostatic discharge process

Ignition energy is one of tbe important parameters of flammable materials, and evaluating ignition energy precisely is essential to the safety of process industry and combustion science and technology. By using electric spark discharge test system, a series of electric spark discharge experiments were conducted with the capacitor-stored energy in the range of 10 J, 100 J, and 1000 J, respectively. The evaluation method for energy consumed by electric spark, wire, and switch during capacitor discharge process has been studied respectively. The resistance of wire, switch, and plasma between electrodes has been evaluated by different methods and an optimized evaluation method has been obtained. The electric energy consumed by wire, electric switch, and electric spark-induced plasma between electrodes were obtained and the energy structure of capacitor-released energy was analyzed. The dynamic process and the characteristic parameters （the maximum power, duration of discharge process） of electric spark discharge process have been analyzed. Experimental results showed that, electric spark-consumed energy only accounts for 8%-14% of the capacitor-released energy. With the increase of capacitor-released energy, the duration of discharge process becomes longer, and the energy of plasma accounts for more in the capacitor-released energy. The power of electric spark varies with time as a damped sinusoids function and the period and the maximum value increase with the capacitor-released energy.

Hazard evaluation of ignition sensitivity and explosion severity for three typical MH_(2) (M=Mg,Ti,Zr)of energetic materials

MgH_(2),TiH_(2),and ZrH_(2) are three typical metal hydrides that have been gradually applied to composite explosives and propellants as additives in recent years.To evaluate ignition sensitivity and explosion severity,the Hartmann device and spherical pressure vessel were used to test ignition energy and explosion pressure,respectively.The results showed that the ignition sensitivity of ZrH_(2),TiH_(2) and MgH_(2) gradually increased.When the concentration of MgH_(2) is 83.0 g/m^(3) in Hartmann device,the ignition energy attained a minimum of 10.0 mJ.The explosion pressure of MgH_(2) were 1.44 times and 1.76 times that of TiH_(2) and ZrH_(2),respectively,and the explosion pressure rising rate were 3.97 times and 9.96 times that of TiH_(2) and ZrH_(2),respectively,through the spherical pressure vessel.It indicated that the reaction reactivity and reaction rate of MgH_(2) were higher than that of TiH_(2) and ZrH_(2).In addition,to conduct in edepth theoretical analysis of ignition sensitivity and explosion severity,gas production and combustion heat per unit mass of ZrH_(2),TiH_(2) and MgH_(2) were tested by mercury manometer and oxygen bomb calorimetry.The experimental results revealed that MgH_(2) had a relatively high gas production per unit mass(5.15 mL/g),while TiH_(2) and ZrH_(2) both had a gas production of less than 2.0 mL/g.Their thermal stability gradually increased,leading to a gradual increase in ignition energy.Furthermore,compared with theoretical combustion heat,the combustion ratio of MgH_(2),TiH_(2) and ZrH_(2) was more than 96.0%,with combustion heat value of 29.96,20.94 and 12.22 MJ/kg,respectively,which was consistent with the explosion pressure and explosion severity test results.

Experimental investigation on electrical characteristics and ignition performance of multichannel plasma igniter

Relighting of jet engines at high altitudes is very difficult because of the high velocity, low pressure, and low tempera- ture of the inlet airflow. Successful ignition needs sufficient ignition energy to generate a spark kernel to induce a so-called critical flame initiation radius. However, at high altitudes with high-speed inlet airflow, the critical flame initiation radius becomes larger; therefore, traditional ignition technologies such as a semiconductor igniter （SI） become infeasible for use in high-altitude relighting of jet engines. In this study, to generate a large spark kernel to achieve successful ignition with high-speed inlet airflow, a new type of multichannel plasma igniter （MCPI） is proposed. Experiments on the electrical char- acteristics of the MCPI and SI were conducted under normal and sub-atmospheric pressures （P = 10-100 kPa）. Ignition experiments for the MCPI and SI with a kerosene/air mixture in a triple-swirler combustor under different velocities of inlet airflow （60-110 m/s）, with a temperature of 473 K at standard atmospheric pressure, were investigated. Results show that the MCPI generates much more arc discharge energy than the SI under a constant pressure; for example, the MCPI generated 6.93% and 16.05 % more arc discharge energy than that of the SI at 30 kPa and 50 kPa, respectively. Compared to the SI, the MCPI generates a larger area and height of plasma heating zone, and induces a much larger initial spark kernel. Furthermore, the lean ignition limit of the MCPI and SI decreases with an increase in the velocity of the inlet airflow, and the maximum velocity of inlet airflow where the SI and MCPI can achieve successful and reliable ignition is 88.7 m/s and 102.2 m/s, respectively. Therefore, the MCPI has the advantage of achieving successful ignition with high-speed inlet airflow and extends the average ignition speed boundary of the kerosene/air mixture by 15.2%.

Energy conversion and ignition of iron nanoparticles by flash

In the present study, Fe nanoparticles(NPs) can ignite when exposed to a conventional camera flash. The ignition process of Fe NPs was composed of the initial ignition stage with the maximum temperature level of 2000 K and the burning stage with temperature level of 800 K. The microstructure characterization indicated Fe NPs were oxidized to Fe_2 O_3 via the exposure-melt mechanism.It was found that more particle numbers per unit area can lead to lower minimum ignition energy which may be caused by the enhancement light energy absorption. The light energy absorbed from the flash was influenced by wavelengths but the conversion of Fe was only related to the packing mass.