Novel aluminum-based fuel: Facile preparation to improve thermal reactions

To improve the thermal properties of aluminum (Al) in the energetic system, a coated structure with ammonium perchlorate (AP) was prepared by a facile approach. And N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) was chosen as an ideal solvent based on heterogeneous nucleation theory and molecular dynamics simulation. This coated structure could enlarge the contact area and improve the reaction environment to enhance the thermal properties. The addition of AP could accelerate oxidation temperature of Al with around 17.5 °C. And the heat release of 85@15 composition rises to 26.13 kJ/g and the reaction degree is 97.6% with higher peak pressure (254.6 kPa) and rise rate (1.397 MPa/s). An ideal ratio with 15 wt% AP was probed primarily. The high energy laser-induced shockwave experiment was utilized to simulate the reaction behavior in hot field. And the larger activated mixture of coated powder could release more energy to promote the growth of shockwave with higher speed up to 518.7 ± 55.9 m/s. In conclusion, 85@15 composition is expected to be applied in energetic system as a novel metal fuel.     

Recent advances in catalytic combustion of AP-based composite solid propellants

Composite solid propellants (CSPs) have widely been used as main energy source for propelling the rockets in both space and military applications. Internal ballistic parameters of rockets like characteristic exhaust velocity, specific impulse, thrust, burning rate etc., are measured to assess and control the performance of rocket motors. The burn rate of solid propellants has been considered as most vital parameter for design of solid rocket motors to meet specific mission requirements. The burning rate of solid propellants can be tailored by using different constituents, extent of oxidizer loading and its particle size and more commonly by incorporating suitable combustion catalysts. Various metal oxides (MOs), complexes, metal powders and metal alloys have shown positive catalytic behaviour during the com-bustion of CSPs. These are usually solid-state catalysts that play multiple roles in combustion of CSPs such as reduction in activation energy, enhancement of rate of reaction, modification of sequences in reaction-phase, influence on condensed-phase combustion and participation in combustion process in gas-phase reactions. The application of nanoscale catalysts in CSPs has increased considerably in recent past due to their superior catalytic properties as compared to their bulk-sized counterparts. A large surface-to-volume ratio and quantum size effect of nanocatalysts are considered to be plausible reasons for improving the combustion characteristics of propellants. Several efforts have been made to produce nanoscale combustion catalysts for advanced propellant formulations to improve their energetics. The work done so far is largely scattered. In this review, an effort has been made to introduce various combustion catalysts having at least a metallic entity. Recent developments of nanoscale combustion catalysts with their specific merits are discussed. The combustion chemistry of a typical CSP is briefly discussed for providing a better understanding on role of combustion catalysts in burning rate enhancement. Available information on different types of combustion nanocatalysts is also presented with critical comments.     

Thermal and combustion behavior of Al-MnO2 nanothermite with poly(vinylidene fluoride -co- hexafluoropropylene) energetic binder

Fluoropolymers get increasing attention in energetic materials application due to the high fluorine content. To explore the effect of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) on Al/MnO2 nanothermite, the samples with different contents are prepared and characterized by SEM, TG-DSC, XRD, and their ignition and combustion behavior are tested and recorded. The results show that P(VDF-HFP) as an energetic binder can combine the nanothermite components together, even exist in the gaps. The integrity of energetic materials has been improved. Thermal analysis shows that the addition of P(VDF-HFP) greatly changes the thermal reaction processes, and the exothermic peaks appear early, but the utilization of fuel and oxidizer is not efficient from the XRD results. Furthermore, the appropriate addition of P(VDF-HFP) can directly reduce the ignition energy threshold and increase the combustion time, which is necessary for the potential ignition charge application. The possible reasons for above phenomena are discussed and analyzed. This research provides a reference for improvement of thermite-based ignition charge formulation.     

中小型客车用钢──水热管式采暖装置工作温度控制研究

讨论了影响热管工作温度ｔｖ的主要因素,提出了控制钢──水热管工作温度（采暖装置的工作温度）的管长参数的确定原则,介绍了用于客车上的实例。     

Thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate catalyzed with CuO nanoparticles

Ammonium perchlorate (APC) is the most common oxidizer in use for solid rocket propulsion systems. However its initial thermal decomposition is an endothermic process that requires 102.5 J·g⁻¹. This manner involves high activation energy and could render high burning rate regime. This study reports on the sustainable fabrication of CuO nanoparticles as a novel catalyzing agent for APC oxidizer. Colloidal CuO nanoparticles with consistent product quality were fabricated by using hydrothermal processing. TEM micrographs demonstrated mono-dispersed particles of 15 nm particle size. XRD diffractogram demonstrated highly crystalline material. The synthesized colloidal CuO particles were effectively coated with APC particles via co-precipitation by using fast-crash solvent–antisolvent technique. The impact of copper oxide particles on APC thermal behavior has been investigated using DSC and TGA techniques. APC demonstrated an initial endothermic decomposition stage at 242 °C with subsequent two exothermic decomposition stages at 297.8 °C and 452.8 °C respectively. At 1 wt%, copper oxide offered decrease in initial endothermic decomposition stage by 30%. The main outcome of this study is that the two main exothermic decomposition peaks were merged into one single peak with an increase in total heat release by 53%. These novel features can inherit copper oxide particles unique catalyzing ability for advanced highly energetic systems.     

Studies on the flame propagation characteristic and thermal hazard of the premixed N2O/fuel mixtures

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the flame propagation and thermal hazard of the premixed N₂O/fuel mixtures, including NH₃, C₃H₈ and C₂H₄. The study provided the high speed video images and data about the flame locations, propagation patterns, overpressures and the quenching diameters during the course of combustion in different channels to elucidate the dynamics of various combustion processes. The onset decomposition temperature was determined using high-performance adiabatic calorimetry. It was shown that the order of the flame acceleration rate and thermal hazard was N₂O/C₂H₄>N₂O/C₃H₈>N₂O/NH₃.     

Liquid phase in-situ synthesis of LiF coated boron powder composite and performance study

Among practical metal additives, boron (B) has a high volumetric heating value, making it a promising choice as a fuel additive. Although B can theoretically yield a large amount of energy upon complete combustion, its combustion is retarded by the initial presence of B oxide, which coats the surfaces of B particle. To improve the ignition and combustion properties of B powder, LiOH and NH₄F were used as precursors to synthesize uniformly LiF-coated B composites (LiF-B) in situ. The LiF-B mixture was also prepared for comparison using a physical method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used to characterize the morphologies and compositions of the products. The thermal and combustion properties of the samples were characterized by thermal gravity-differential thermal gravity (TG-DTG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and closed bomb experiment. The XRD, FTIR, SEM and EDS results demonstrated the successful preparation of the coated LiF-B sample. The TG-DTG and closed bomb experiment results indicated that the addition of LiF decreased the ignition temperature of B powder, and increasing its reaction efficiency. DSC results show that when LiF-B was added, the released heat of underwater explosive increased by 6727.2, 7280.4 and 3109.6 J/g at heating rates of 5, 10, and 15 °C/min, respectively. Moreover, LiF-B decreased the activation energy of secondary combustion reaction of explosive system as calculated through Kissinger's method by 28.9%, which indicated an excellent catalytic effect for the thermal decomposition of underwater explosive. The results reveal that LiF can improve the combustion efficiency of B powder, thereby increasing the total energy of explosives. The mechanical sensitivity increased slightly after adding LiF-B to the underwater explosive. Compared to the underwater explosive with added B, the mechanical sensitivity of the explosive with added LiF-B was significantly lower.     

高超声速飞行器常规螺线管磁控热防护系统可行性分析

针对高超声速飞行器鼻锥热防护,构造常规圆柱螺线管磁控热防护系统的物理模型。采用低磁雷诺数磁流体数学模型,对外加磁场作用下的高超声速鼻锥流场进行数值模拟;分析常规螺线管磁控热防护系统的有效磁感应强度范围;给出满足导线电流密度工作极限的螺线管几何参数的要求。研究表明,由于磁控"饱和现象"及导线电流密度的限制,系统可行工作范围为驻点磁感应强度B0∈[0.05 T,0.20 T];B0=0.20 T时,驻点热流密度和总热流分别降低了31.3%和56.6%,热防护效果良好;但磁控系统导线质量仍然较重,应采用可缩短与驻点间距离的异形螺旋管或超导磁铁等替代方法来满足工程防热需求。