Kinetic parameters of the decomposition of hazardous chemicals can be applied for the estimation of their thermal behavior under any temperature profile.Presented paper describes the application of the advanced kineti...Kinetic parameters of the decomposition of hazardous chemicals can be applied for the estimation of their thermal behavior under any temperature profile.Presented paper describes the application of the advanced kinetic approach for the determination of the thermal behavior also under adiabatic conditions occurring e.g.in batch reactors in case of cooling failure.The kinetics of the decomposition of different samples(different manufacturers and batches) of 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol were investigated by conventional DSC in non-isothermal(few heating rates varying from 0.25 to 8.0K/min) and isothermal(range of 200~260℃) modes.The kinetic parameters obtained with AKTS-Thermokinetics Software were applied for calculating reaction rate and progress under different heating rates and temperatures and verified by comparing simulated and experimental signals.After application of the heat balance to compare the amount of heat generated during reaction and its removal from the system,the knowledge of reaction rate at any temperature profiles allowed the determination of the temperature increase due to the self-heating in adiabatic and pseudo-adiabatic conditions.Applied advanced kinetic approach allowed simulation the course of the Heat-Wait-Search(HWS) mode of operation of adiabatic calorimeters.The thermal safety diagram depicting dependence of Time to Maximum Rate(TMR) on the initial temperature was calculated and compared with the results of HWS experiments carried out in the system with Ф-factor amounting to 3.2.The influence of the Ф-factor and reaction progress reached at the end of the HWS monitoring on the TMR is discussed.Presented calculations clearly indicate that even very minor reaction progress reduces the TMRad of 24h characteristic for a sample with initial reaction progress amounting to zero.Described estimation method can be verified by just one HWS-ARC,or by one correctly chosen ISO-ARC run of reasonable duration by knowing in advance the dependence of the TMR on the initial temperature for any Ф-factor.Proposed procedure results in significant shortening of the measuring time compared to a safety hazard approach based on series of ARC experiments carried out at the beginning of a process safety evaluation.展开更多
A new compound, [(NH2)2C=NH2]+N(NO2)2-(GDN), was prepared by mixing ammonium dinitramide (ADN) and guanidine hydrochloride in water. The thermal behavior of GDN was studied under the non-isothermal conditions...A new compound, [(NH2)2C=NH2]+N(NO2)2-(GDN), was prepared by mixing ammonium dinitramide (ADN) and guanidine hydrochloride in water. The thermal behavior of GDN was studied under the non-isothermal conditions with DSC and TG/DTG methods. The apparent activation energy(E) and pre-exponential constant(A) of the exothermic decomposition stage of GDN were 118.75 kJ/mol and 10^10.86 s^-1, respectively. The critical temperature of the thermal explosion(Tb) of GDN was 164.09 ℃. The specific heat capacity of GDN was determined with the Micro-DSC method and the theoretical calculation method, and the standard molar specific heat capacity was 234.76 J·mol^-1·K^-1 at 298.15 K. The adiabatic time-to-explosion of GDN was also calculated to be a certain value between 404.80 and 454.95 s.展开更多
A differential/integral method to estimate the kinetic parameters(apparent activation energy Eaand pre-exponential factor A) for thermal decomposition reaction of energetic materials based on Kooij formula are applied...A differential/integral method to estimate the kinetic parameters(apparent activation energy Eaand pre-exponential factor A) for thermal decomposition reaction of energetic materials based on Kooij formula are applied to study the nonisothermal decomposition reaction kinetics of hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane(HNIW) by analyzing nonisothermal DSC curve data. The apparent activation energy(Ea) obtained by the integral isoconversional non-isothermal method based on Kooij formula is used to check the constancy and validity of apparent activation energy by the differential/integral method based on Kooij formula. The most probable mechanism function of thermal decomposition reaction of HNIW is determined by a logical choice method. The equations for calculating the critical temperatures of thermal explosion(Tb) and adiabatic time-toexplosion(tTIad) based on Kooij formula are used to calculate the values of Tband tTIadto evaluate the thermal safety and heat-resistant ability of HNIW. All the original data needed for analyzing the kinetic parameters are from nonisothermal DSC curves. The results show that the kinetic model function in differential form and the values of Eaand A of decomposition reaction of HNIW are 3(1 a)[ ln(1 a)]2/3, 152.73 kJ mol 1and 1011.97s 1, respectively, and the values of self-accelerating decomposition temperature(TSADT), Tband tTIadare 486.55 K, 493.11 K and52.01 s, respectively.展开更多
Dynamic compression tests were carried out to investigate dynamic mechanical behavior and adiabatic shear bands in ultrafine grained(UFG)pure zirconium prepared by equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)and rotary swayin...Dynamic compression tests were carried out to investigate dynamic mechanical behavior and adiabatic shear bands in ultrafine grained(UFG)pure zirconium prepared by equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)and rotary swaying.The cylindrical specimens were deformed dynamically on the split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB)at different strain rates of 800 to 4000s^-1 at room temperature.The temperature distribution of the shear bands was estimated on the basis of temperature rise of uniform plastic deformation stage and thermal diffusion effect.The results show that the true stress-true strain curves of UFG pure zirconium are concave upward trend of strain in range of 0.02-0.16 due to the effects of strain hardening,strain rate hardening and thermal softening.The formation of the adiabatic shear bands is the main reason of UFG pure zirconium failure.A large number of micro-voids are observed in the adiabatic shear bands,and the macroscopic cracks develop from the micro-voids coalescence.The fracture surface of UFG pure zirconium exhibits quasi cleavage fracture with the characteristic features of shear dimples and river pattern.The highest temperature within the shear bands of UFG pure zirconium is about 592 K.展开更多
This work extensively investigates the thermal characteristic evolution of lithium-ion batteries under different degradation paths,and the evolution mechanism through multi-angle characterization is revealed.Under dif...This work extensively investigates the thermal characteristic evolution of lithium-ion batteries under different degradation paths,and the evolution mechanism through multi-angle characterization is revealed.Under different degradation paths,the evolution trend of temperature rise rate remains unchanged with respect to depth of discharge during the adiabatic discharge process,albeit to varying degrees of alteration.The temperature rise rate changes significantly with aging during the adiabatic discharge process under low-temperature cycling and high-rate cycling paths.The total heat generation rate,irreversible heat generation rate,and reversible heat generation rate exhibit similar evolution behavior with aging under different degradation paths.The interval range of endothermic process of reversible electrochemical reactions increases and the contribution of irreversible heat to the total heat increases with aging.To further standardize the assessment of different degradation paths on the thermal characteristics,this work introduces the innovative concept of“Ampere-hour temperature rise”.In low-temperature cycling and high-rate cycling paths,the ampere-hour temperature rise increases significantly with aging,particularly accentuated with higher discharge rates.Conversely,in high-temperature cycling and high-temperature storage paths,the ampere-hour temperature rise remains relatively stable during the initial stages of aging,yet undergoes a notable increase in the later stages of aging.The multi-angle characterization reveals distinct thermal evolution behavior under different degradation paths primarily attributed to different behavior changes of severe side reactions,such as lithium plating.The findings provide crucial insights for the safe utilization and management of lithium–ion batteries throughout the whole lifecycle.展开更多
The laminar combustion characteristics of CH_(4)/air premixed flames with CO_(2) addition are systemically studied.Experimental measurements and numerical simulations of the laminar burning velocity(LBV)are performed ...The laminar combustion characteristics of CH_(4)/air premixed flames with CO_(2) addition are systemically studied.Experimental measurements and numerical simulations of the laminar burning velocity(LBV)are performed in CH_(4)/CO_(2)/Air flames with various CO_(2) doping ratio under equivalence ratios of 1.0–1.4.GRI 3.0 mech and Aramco mech are employed for predicting LBV,adiabatic flame temperature(AFT),important intermediate radicals(CH_(3),H,OH,O)and NO_(x) emissions(NO,NO_(2),N2O),as well as the sensitivity analysis is also conducted.The detail analysis of experiment and simulation reveals that as the CO_(2) addition increases from 0%to 40%,the LBVs and AFTs decrease monotonously.Under the same CO_(2) doping ratio,the LBVs and AFTs increase first and then decrease with the increase of equivalence ratio,and the maximum of LBV is reached at equivalence ratio of 1.05.The mole fraction tendency of important intermediates and NO_(x) with equivalence ratio and CO_(2) doping ratio are similar to the LBVs and AFTs.Reaction H+O_(2)⇔O+OH is found to be responsible for the promotion of the generation of important intermediates and NO_(x) under the equivalence ratios and CO_(2) addition through sensitivity analysis.The sensitivity coefficients of elementary reactions that the increasing of CO_(2) doping ratio promotes or inhibits formation of intermediate radicals and NO_(x) decreases.展开更多
1-amino-1-ethylamino-2,2-dinitroethylene (AEFOX-7) was synthesized by the reaction of 1,1- diamino-2,2-dinitroethylene (FOX-7) and ethylamine aqueous solution at 92 ℃. The the- oretical investigation on AEFOX-7 w...1-amino-1-ethylamino-2,2-dinitroethylene (AEFOX-7) was synthesized by the reaction of 1,1- diamino-2,2-dinitroethylene (FOX-7) and ethylamine aqueous solution at 92 ℃. The the- oretical investigation on AEFOX-7 was carried out by B3LYP/6-311++G^** method. The IR frequencies and NMR chemical shifts were performed and compared with the experimental results. The thermal behavior of AEFOX-7 was studied with differential scanning calorimetry and thermal gravity-derivative thermogravimetry methods, and can be divided into a melting process and an exothermic decomposition process. The enthalpy, apparent activation energy and pre-exponential factor of the exothermic decomposition reaction were obtained as 374.88 kJ/mol, 169.7 kJ/mol, and 10^19.24 s^-1, respectively. The critical temperature of thermal explosion of AEFOX-7 is 145.2 ℃. The specific heat capacity of AEFOX-7 was determined with micro-DSC method and theoretical calculation method, and the molar heat capacity is 214.50 J/(mol K) at 298.15 K. The adiabatic time-to-explosion of AEFOX-7 was calculated to be a certain value between 1.38-1.40 s. The thermal stability of AEFOX-7 is much lower than that of FOX-7.展开更多
The thermal decomposition behavior of composite modified double-base(CMDB) propellant containing cyclotrimethylene trinitramine(RDX) was studied via a Calvet microcalorimeter at five different heating rates. The a...The thermal decomposition behavior of composite modified double-base(CMDB) propellant containing cyclotrimethylene trinitramine(RDX) was studied via a Calvet microcalorimeter at five different heating rates. The activation energy(E) and the pre-exponential factor(A) of two obvious exothermic processes were obtained by Kissinger's method and Ozawa's method. The entropy of activation(△S^≠), the enthalpy of activation(△H^≠), and the free energy of activation(△G^≠) of the first stage were calculated. To evaluate the thermal hazard of the RDX-CMDB propellant, the critical temperature of thermal explosion(Tb), the self acceleration decomposition temperature(Tsgox), the adiabatic decomposition temperature increment(ATad) and the time-to-explosion of adiabatic system(t) were presented as 145.3 ℃, 138.15 ℃, 1634 K and 583.71 s(n=0) and 586.28 s(n=1), respectively.展开更多
The explosivity experiment of anti-explosive ammonium nitrate (AEAN) shows that the explosive characteristic of AEAN is eliminated. The adiabatic decompositions of ammonium nitrate and AEAN were investigated with an a...The explosivity experiment of anti-explosive ammonium nitrate (AEAN) shows that the explosive characteristic of AEAN is eliminated. The adiabatic decompositions of ammonium nitrate and AEAN were investigated with an accelerating rate calorimeter (ARC). The curves of thermal decomposition temperature and pressure versus time, self-heating rate and pressure versus temperature for two systems were obtained. The kinetic parameters such as apparent activation energy and pre-exponential factor were calculated. The safety of AEAN was analyzed. It was indicated that AEAN has a higher thermal stability than AN. At the same time, it can be shown that the elimination of its explosive characteristic is due to the improvement on the thermal stability of AEAN.展开更多
As the widely implemented electrode material,graphite has the characteristic of sublimation by the thermal shock of the switching arc,and the produced carbon vapor is easy to condense into carbon powders and deposit i...As the widely implemented electrode material,graphite has the characteristic of sublimation by the thermal shock of the switching arc,and the produced carbon vapor is easy to condense into carbon powders and deposit in the switch.The impact of the type of dilution gas in a mixture of20%oxygen and 80%dilution gas on the sublimation and oxidation characteristics of the graphite electrode is investigated.It is found that when nitrogen dilution gas was replaced by argon,the heat flux to the electrodes decreased,which led to a 63%reduction of graphite sublimation.At the same time,the cooling rate of the arc was slower in argon,which promotes oxidation of the carbon vapor.The residual solid carbon can be reduced by 70%–85%by using argon as the dilution gas.Consequently,it is demonstrated that the stability and working life of the switch could be increased by appropriate selection of the dilution gas.展开更多
文摘Kinetic parameters of the decomposition of hazardous chemicals can be applied for the estimation of their thermal behavior under any temperature profile.Presented paper describes the application of the advanced kinetic approach for the determination of the thermal behavior also under adiabatic conditions occurring e.g.in batch reactors in case of cooling failure.The kinetics of the decomposition of different samples(different manufacturers and batches) of 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol were investigated by conventional DSC in non-isothermal(few heating rates varying from 0.25 to 8.0K/min) and isothermal(range of 200~260℃) modes.The kinetic parameters obtained with AKTS-Thermokinetics Software were applied for calculating reaction rate and progress under different heating rates and temperatures and verified by comparing simulated and experimental signals.After application of the heat balance to compare the amount of heat generated during reaction and its removal from the system,the knowledge of reaction rate at any temperature profiles allowed the determination of the temperature increase due to the self-heating in adiabatic and pseudo-adiabatic conditions.Applied advanced kinetic approach allowed simulation the course of the Heat-Wait-Search(HWS) mode of operation of adiabatic calorimeters.The thermal safety diagram depicting dependence of Time to Maximum Rate(TMR) on the initial temperature was calculated and compared with the results of HWS experiments carried out in the system with Ф-factor amounting to 3.2.The influence of the Ф-factor and reaction progress reached at the end of the HWS monitoring on the TMR is discussed.Presented calculations clearly indicate that even very minor reaction progress reduces the TMRad of 24h characteristic for a sample with initial reaction progress amounting to zero.Described estimation method can be verified by just one HWS-ARC,or by one correctly chosen ISO-ARC run of reasonable duration by knowing in advance the dependence of the TMR on the initial temperature for any Ф-factor.Proposed procedure results in significant shortening of the measuring time compared to a safety hazard approach based on series of ARC experiments carried out at the beginning of a process safety evaluation.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.20803058)Xi’an Scientific and Technical Plan Foundation, China(No.YF07106).
文摘A new compound, [(NH2)2C=NH2]+N(NO2)2-(GDN), was prepared by mixing ammonium dinitramide (ADN) and guanidine hydrochloride in water. The thermal behavior of GDN was studied under the non-isothermal conditions with DSC and TG/DTG methods. The apparent activation energy(E) and pre-exponential constant(A) of the exothermic decomposition stage of GDN were 118.75 kJ/mol and 10^10.86 s^-1, respectively. The critical temperature of the thermal explosion(Tb) of GDN was 164.09 ℃. The specific heat capacity of GDN was determined with the Micro-DSC method and the theoretical calculation method, and the standard molar specific heat capacity was 234.76 J·mol^-1·K^-1 at 298.15 K. The adiabatic time-to-explosion of GDN was also calculated to be a certain value between 404.80 and 454.95 s.
文摘A differential/integral method to estimate the kinetic parameters(apparent activation energy Eaand pre-exponential factor A) for thermal decomposition reaction of energetic materials based on Kooij formula are applied to study the nonisothermal decomposition reaction kinetics of hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane(HNIW) by analyzing nonisothermal DSC curve data. The apparent activation energy(Ea) obtained by the integral isoconversional non-isothermal method based on Kooij formula is used to check the constancy and validity of apparent activation energy by the differential/integral method based on Kooij formula. The most probable mechanism function of thermal decomposition reaction of HNIW is determined by a logical choice method. The equations for calculating the critical temperatures of thermal explosion(Tb) and adiabatic time-toexplosion(tTIad) based on Kooij formula are used to calculate the values of Tband tTIadto evaluate the thermal safety and heat-resistant ability of HNIW. All the original data needed for analyzing the kinetic parameters are from nonisothermal DSC curves. The results show that the kinetic model function in differential form and the values of Eaand A of decomposition reaction of HNIW are 3(1 a)[ ln(1 a)]2/3, 152.73 kJ mol 1and 1011.97s 1, respectively, and the values of self-accelerating decomposition temperature(TSADT), Tband tTIadare 486.55 K, 493.11 K and52.01 s, respectively.
基金Funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.51474170)Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province(No.2016JQ5026)Foundation of Liaoning Province Educational Committee(No.2017LNQN14).
文摘Dynamic compression tests were carried out to investigate dynamic mechanical behavior and adiabatic shear bands in ultrafine grained(UFG)pure zirconium prepared by equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)and rotary swaying.The cylindrical specimens were deformed dynamically on the split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB)at different strain rates of 800 to 4000s^-1 at room temperature.The temperature distribution of the shear bands was estimated on the basis of temperature rise of uniform plastic deformation stage and thermal diffusion effect.The results show that the true stress-true strain curves of UFG pure zirconium are concave upward trend of strain in range of 0.02-0.16 due to the effects of strain hardening,strain rate hardening and thermal softening.The formation of the adiabatic shear bands is the main reason of UFG pure zirconium failure.A large number of micro-voids are observed in the adiabatic shear bands,and the macroscopic cracks develop from the micro-voids coalescence.The fracture surface of UFG pure zirconium exhibits quasi cleavage fracture with the characteristic features of shear dimples and river pattern.The highest temperature within the shear bands of UFG pure zirconium is about 592 K.
基金This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC,Nos.52176199,and U20A20310)supported by the Program of Shanghai Academic/Technology Research Leader(22XD1423800).
文摘This work extensively investigates the thermal characteristic evolution of lithium-ion batteries under different degradation paths,and the evolution mechanism through multi-angle characterization is revealed.Under different degradation paths,the evolution trend of temperature rise rate remains unchanged with respect to depth of discharge during the adiabatic discharge process,albeit to varying degrees of alteration.The temperature rise rate changes significantly with aging during the adiabatic discharge process under low-temperature cycling and high-rate cycling paths.The total heat generation rate,irreversible heat generation rate,and reversible heat generation rate exhibit similar evolution behavior with aging under different degradation paths.The interval range of endothermic process of reversible electrochemical reactions increases and the contribution of irreversible heat to the total heat increases with aging.To further standardize the assessment of different degradation paths on the thermal characteristics,this work introduces the innovative concept of“Ampere-hour temperature rise”.In low-temperature cycling and high-rate cycling paths,the ampere-hour temperature rise increases significantly with aging,particularly accentuated with higher discharge rates.Conversely,in high-temperature cycling and high-temperature storage paths,the ampere-hour temperature rise remains relatively stable during the initial stages of aging,yet undergoes a notable increase in the later stages of aging.The multi-angle characterization reveals distinct thermal evolution behavior under different degradation paths primarily attributed to different behavior changes of severe side reactions,such as lithium plating.The findings provide crucial insights for the safe utilization and management of lithium–ion batteries throughout the whole lifecycle.
基金The authors would like to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52176095)Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation(2008085J25)the Project of support program for outstanding young people in Colleges and Universities(gxyqZD201830)for their financial support of this study.
文摘The laminar combustion characteristics of CH_(4)/air premixed flames with CO_(2) addition are systemically studied.Experimental measurements and numerical simulations of the laminar burning velocity(LBV)are performed in CH_(4)/CO_(2)/Air flames with various CO_(2) doping ratio under equivalence ratios of 1.0–1.4.GRI 3.0 mech and Aramco mech are employed for predicting LBV,adiabatic flame temperature(AFT),important intermediate radicals(CH_(3),H,OH,O)and NO_(x) emissions(NO,NO_(2),N2O),as well as the sensitivity analysis is also conducted.The detail analysis of experiment and simulation reveals that as the CO_(2) addition increases from 0%to 40%,the LBVs and AFTs decrease monotonously.Under the same CO_(2) doping ratio,the LBVs and AFTs increase first and then decrease with the increase of equivalence ratio,and the maximum of LBV is reached at equivalence ratio of 1.05.The mole fraction tendency of important intermediates and NO_(x) with equivalence ratio and CO_(2) doping ratio are similar to the LBVs and AFTs.Reaction H+O_(2)⇔O+OH is found to be responsible for the promotion of the generation of important intermediates and NO_(x) under the equivalence ratios and CO_(2) addition through sensitivity analysis.The sensitivity coefficients of elementary reactions that the increasing of CO_(2) doping ratio promotes or inhibits formation of intermediate radicals and NO_(x) decreases.
文摘1-amino-1-ethylamino-2,2-dinitroethylene (AEFOX-7) was synthesized by the reaction of 1,1- diamino-2,2-dinitroethylene (FOX-7) and ethylamine aqueous solution at 92 ℃. The the- oretical investigation on AEFOX-7 was carried out by B3LYP/6-311++G^** method. The IR frequencies and NMR chemical shifts were performed and compared with the experimental results. The thermal behavior of AEFOX-7 was studied with differential scanning calorimetry and thermal gravity-derivative thermogravimetry methods, and can be divided into a melting process and an exothermic decomposition process. The enthalpy, apparent activation energy and pre-exponential factor of the exothermic decomposition reaction were obtained as 374.88 kJ/mol, 169.7 kJ/mol, and 10^19.24 s^-1, respectively. The critical temperature of thermal explosion of AEFOX-7 is 145.2 ℃. The specific heat capacity of AEFOX-7 was determined with micro-DSC method and theoretical calculation method, and the molar heat capacity is 214.50 J/(mol K) at 298.15 K. The adiabatic time-to-explosion of AEFOX-7 was calculated to be a certain value between 1.38-1.40 s. The thermal stability of AEFOX-7 is much lower than that of FOX-7.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.20573098)the Science and Technology Foundation of the National Defense Key Laboratory of Propellant and Explosive Combustion in China(No.9140C3501020901)
文摘The thermal decomposition behavior of composite modified double-base(CMDB) propellant containing cyclotrimethylene trinitramine(RDX) was studied via a Calvet microcalorimeter at five different heating rates. The activation energy(E) and the pre-exponential factor(A) of two obvious exothermic processes were obtained by Kissinger's method and Ozawa's method. The entropy of activation(△S^≠), the enthalpy of activation(△H^≠), and the free energy of activation(△G^≠) of the first stage were calculated. To evaluate the thermal hazard of the RDX-CMDB propellant, the critical temperature of thermal explosion(Tb), the self acceleration decomposition temperature(Tsgox), the adiabatic decomposition temperature increment(ATad) and the time-to-explosion of adiabatic system(t) were presented as 145.3 ℃, 138.15 ℃, 1634 K and 583.71 s(n=0) and 586.28 s(n=1), respectively.
文摘The explosivity experiment of anti-explosive ammonium nitrate (AEAN) shows that the explosive characteristic of AEAN is eliminated. The adiabatic decompositions of ammonium nitrate and AEAN were investigated with an accelerating rate calorimeter (ARC). The curves of thermal decomposition temperature and pressure versus time, self-heating rate and pressure versus temperature for two systems were obtained. The kinetic parameters such as apparent activation energy and pre-exponential factor were calculated. The safety of AEAN was analyzed. It was indicated that AEAN has a higher thermal stability than AN. At the same time, it can be shown that the elimination of its explosive characteristic is due to the improvement on the thermal stability of AEAN.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.51777082 and 52077091)Chinese Scholarship Council(No.201906160101)。
文摘As the widely implemented electrode material,graphite has the characteristic of sublimation by the thermal shock of the switching arc,and the produced carbon vapor is easy to condense into carbon powders and deposit in the switch.The impact of the type of dilution gas in a mixture of20%oxygen and 80%dilution gas on the sublimation and oxidation characteristics of the graphite electrode is investigated.It is found that when nitrogen dilution gas was replaced by argon,the heat flux to the electrodes decreased,which led to a 63%reduction of graphite sublimation.At the same time,the cooling rate of the arc was slower in argon,which promotes oxidation of the carbon vapor.The residual solid carbon can be reduced by 70%–85%by using argon as the dilution gas.Consequently,it is demonstrated that the stability and working life of the switch could be increased by appropriate selection of the dilution gas.