Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Role of surface chemistry in the ignition of pyrotechnic materials

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5370438

The surface chemistry of fuels has been shown to play a key role in the ignition of pyrotechnic materials. Since these fuels are usually easily oxidized, the surface must provide protection from undesirable oxidation processes such as pyrophoricity while permitting the desirable pyrotechnic reactions. For both titanium and aluminum, these criteria are met by metal oxide coatings which control the accessibility of the fuel to the oxidizer. However, we have shown that the mechanisms through which this control is exerted are substantially different. The ignition of titanium based pyrotechnics seems to be kinetically controlled by the dissolution of the titanium oxide coating to generate a reactive surface for the pyrotechnic reaction. Reactions of aluminum seem to depend on diffusion of aluminum (or oxygen at higher temperatures) through its oxide coating. It was also shown that the accessibility of aluminum can be improved by alloying.

Research Organization:
Mound Facility, Miamisburg, OH (USA); Dayton Univ., OH (USA). Research Inst.
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00053
OSTI ID:
5370438
Report Number(s):
MLM-2708(OP); CONF-800713-6
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English