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Thermochemical model for shock-induced chemical reactions in porous thermite: The heat detonation model

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5845398

A thermochemical model has been developed that treats a shock-induced solid state chemical reaction as a special type of detonation, called a ''heat detonation'' to distinguish it from an ordinary explosive detonation and describe the final form that the chemical energy takes. According to shock temperature measurements, chemical energy can be released from porous reactive solids on a time scale shorter than shock-transit times in laboratory samples. By comparing the experimental shock temperature for porous thermite to that calculated by the model, the amount of thermite reacted when shocked to about 4 GPa was estimated to be between 60 and 70%. Calculated shock temperatures are extremely strong functions of the extent of reaction, but are relatively insensitive to the initial porosity and amount of volatile impurities. Thus, shock temperature measurements are the most useful for real-time studies of shock-induced exothermic chemical reactions in solids. 11 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
5845398
Report Number(s):
SAND-89-0990C; CONF-890812-12; ON: DE89016528
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English