The surface activation of boron to improve ignition and combustion characteristic

Boron is a very promising and highly attractive fuel because of high calorific value. However, the practical applications in explosives and propellants of boron have been limited by long ignition delay time and low combustion efficiency. Herein, nano-Al and graphene fluoride (GF) as surface activated materials are employed to coat boron (B) particles to improve ignition and combustion performance. The reaction heat of nano-Al coated B/KNO₃ and GF coated B/KNO₃ are 1116.83 J/g and 862.69 J/g, respectively, which are higher than that of pure B/KNO₃ (823.39 J/g). The ignition delay time of B/KNO₃ could be reduced through nano-Al coating. The shortest ignition delay time is only 75 ms for B coated with nano-Al of 8 wt%, which is much shorter than that of pure B/KNO₃ (109 ms). However, the ignition delay time of B/KNO₃ coated with GF has been increased from 109 to 187 ms. B coated with GF and nano-Al shown significantly influence on the pressure output and flame structure of B/KNO₃. Furthermore, the effects of B/O ratios on the pressure output and ignition delay time have been further fully studied. For B/KNO₃ coated with nano-Al and GF, the highest pressures are 88 KPa and 59 KPa for B/O ratio of 4:6, and the minimum ignition delay time are 94 ms and 148 ms for B/O ratio of 7:3. Based on the above results, the reaction process of boron coated with GF and nano-Al has been proposed to understand combustion mechanism.     

过氯酸铵 (AP) 爆燃的模拟

本文提出一个描述AP爆燃的物理化学模型,并计算了AP晶粒在10～800大气压下的爆燃速度、压力指数、燃面温度等参数值,计算结果和T.L. Boggs等人的实验结果相符文中提出AP爆燃过程中,在低压和高压下,可能存在着两种不同的凝聚相反应机理,并用以解释Boggs的实验现象。此外,本文还提出了一种描述绝热体系中,预混火焰燃烧时的化学反应速度表示式和计算方法,使气相温度梯度及热传导的计算简单合理,这也是本模拟研究取得成功的因素之一。     

Effect of energy content of the nitraminic plastic bonded explosives on their performance and sensitivity characteristics

Information about the forty nine nitraminic plastic bonded explosives (PBXs) and different nitramines were collected. Fillers of these PBXs are nitramines 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane (RDX) and β-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5-tetrazocane (β-HMX), cis-1,3,4,6-tetranitro-octahydroimidazo-[4,5-d]imidazole (bicyclo-HMX, BCHMX) and ε-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazaisowurtzitane (ε-HNIW, CL-20) which are bonded by polyfluoro-elastomers, polydimethyl-siloxane, poly-glycidyl azide, polyisobutylene, polystyrene-butadiene, poly-acrylonitrile-butadiene and hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene in addition to a melt cast compositions based on 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene. For thirty two of these PBXs the relationships are specified and analyzed between heats of their combustion and relative explosive strengths; by means of these relationships it might be possible to estimate, which groupings in the macromolecule of binder could be liable to their primary fission in the PBXs initiation. Similarly, for forty two of these explosives, the relationships are described and analyzed between their enthalpies of formation and impact sensitivities; here is especially attention paid to PBXs filled by BCHMX. Specific rate constants from Vacuum Stability Test (VST) of four nitramines and twenty PBXs are introduced into relationships with their enthalpies of formation. Regarding to all the mentioned cases, increasing of energy content of the studied explosives leads to increase of the relative explosive strength or initiation reactivity, respectively. Exception with the opposite trend, the outputs of VST are for BCHMX, where in PBXs are matrices with the esteric plasticizers or the energetic poly-glycidyl azide. Admixture of RDX or HMX, respectively, into the BCHX PBXs gives ternary PBXs whose thermal stability, in the sense of applied VST, is higher comparing to the original binary explosives.     

Hazard evaluation of ignition sensitivity and explosion severity for three typical MH2 (M＝Mg,Ti, Zr) of energetic materials

MgH2, TiH2, and ZrH2 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 ex-plosion pressure, respectively. The results showed that the ignition sensitivity of ZrH2, TiH2 and MgH2 gradually increased. When the concentration of MgH2 is 83.0 g/m3 in Hartmann device, the ignition energy attained a minimum of 10.0 mJ. The explosion pressure of MgH2 were 1.44 times and 1.76 times that of TiH2 and ZrH2, respectively, and the explosion pressure rising rate were 3.97 times and 9.96 times that of TiH2 and ZrH2, respectively, through the spherical pressure vessel. It indicated that the reaction reactivity and reaction rate of MgH2 were higher than that of TiH2 and ZrH2. In addition, to conduct in-depth theoretical analysis of ignition sensitivity and explosion severity, gas production and combus-tion heat per unit mass of ZrH2, TiH2 and MgH2 were tested by mercury manometer and oxygen bomb calorimetry. The experimental results revealed that MgH2 had a relatively high gas production per unit mass (5.15 mL/g), while TiH2 and ZrH2 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 MgH2, TiH2 and ZrH2 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.     

高能硝胺推进剂的压强指数分析

从高能硝胺推进剂配方组成入手 ,深入研究了各组分参数的变化对该推进剂燃烧性能的影响 ,认为 :高硝胺 ( HMX或 RDX)含量和高硝酸酯增塑剂含量是高能硝胺推进剂 ( NEPE)高压强指数的根本原因。同时指出该类推进剂的燃烧性能的调节将不再仅仅局限于硝胺的催化 ,而应针对硝胺和硝酸酯及 AP的特殊作用进行综合调节     

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, and γ_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 Al₂O₃ 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 Al₅O₆N and Al₂O₃.     

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.     

Combustion characteristic and aging behavior of bimetal thermite powders

Nanothermites have been employed as fuel additives in energetic formulations due to their higher en-ergy density over CHNO energetics. Nevertheless, sintering and degradation of nanoparticles signifi-cantly 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 nano-thermite 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.     

Influence of multiple structural parameters on interior ballistics based on orthogonal test methods

Influence of multiple structural parameters on the performance of a gun launch system driven by high-pressure reactive gases is important for structural design and performance adjustment. A coupled lumped parameter model was utilized to predict the propellant combustion, and a dynamic finite element method was applied to approximate the mechanical interactions between the projectile and the barrel. The combustion and the mechanical interactions were coupled through a user subroutine interface in ABAQUS. The correctness and the capability of the finite element approximations in capturing small structural changes were validated by comparing predicted resistance with experiments. Based on the coupled model, the influence of structural parameters of a medium-caliber gun on the system performance was investigated. In order to reduce the research costs, orthogonal tests were designed to investigate the comprehensive effects of the parameters. According to statistical analysis, the important order of the structural parameters on the launching process was obtained. The results indicate that the influence of the width of the rotating band stands out among the studied parameters in the gun. The work provides a method to investigate the influence of multiple parameters on system performance and gives guidance for controlling the system performance.     

浅谈“B-2”隐身战略轰炸机

把注意力集中于首次使用于科索沃战争中的B-2战略轰炸机,对其隐身性能、突防能力及其使用弱点进行了研究,并对B-3战略轰炸机的发展作了分析.