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Titanium oxidation kinetics and the mechanism for thermal ignition of titanium-based pyrotechnics

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5816049

Previously published experimental studies proposed that thermal ignition of titanium-based pyrotechnics is controlled by the rate at which an initial oxide coating dissolves into the bulk metal as a result of molecular diffusion. The proposed dissolution mechanism was based primarily on the exotherms and ignition temperatures, which were about 793/sup 0/K, observed using differential thermal methods involving heating rates of 0.33 K/s. Data from a more recent investigation of titanium oxidation kinetics at temperatures between 473 and 773/sup 0/K showed that, for time scales on the order of minutes and temperatures near 773/sup 0/K, titanium oxidation rates and, therefore, pyrotechnic ignition are determined by diffusion-controlled growth of a TiO/sub 2/ (rutile) layer adjacent to the gas-solid interface. They are not controlled by oxygen dissolution into the bulk metal. This result was based primarily on Auger depth profiles from isothermally oxidized titanium single crystals. It is further supported by the present work, in which a model for pyrotechnic response during differential thermal analysis experiments was derived using an oxidation rate expression based on growth of a TiO/sub 2/ layer. The model predicts exotherms which are consistent with those reported in the previously published experimental studies. 16 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
5816049
Report Number(s):
SAND-85-2872C; CONF-860739-6; ON: DE86010987
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English