Title
Strobes: An oscillatory combustion
Author
Corbel, J.M.L.
van Lingen, J.N.J.
Zevenbergen, J.F.
Gijzeman, O.L.J.
Meijerink, A.
Publication year
2012
Abstract
Strobe compositions belong to the class of solid combustions. They are mixtures of powdered ingredients. When ignited, the combustion front evolves in an oscillatory fashion, and flashes of light are produced by intermittence. They have fascinated many scientists since their discovery at the beginning of the 20th century. However, the chemical and physical processes involved in this curious oscillatory combustion remain unknown. Several theories have been proposed: One claims that two different reactions occur: one during the slow dark phase and another during the fast flash phase. The alternation between the phases is ascribed to heat variations. Other theories suggest that the formation of intermediate species during the dark phase and the change of phase are caused by variations in their concentration. A ternary strobe composition with ammonium perchlorate, magnalium, and barium sulfate is analyzed. The role of barium sulfate is studied by replacing it by other metal sulfates that have different physical properties (melting points), and the burning of the compositions is recorded with a high-speed camera and a spectrometer coupled with a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. Experimental results show noticeable differences in the physical and chemical processes involved in the strobe reactions. © 2012 American Chemical Society.
Subject
Fluid Mechanics Chemistry & Energetics
EM - Energetic Materials
TS - Technical Sciences
Defence Research
Defence, Safety and Security
20th century
Ammonium perchlorates
Barium sulfate
Charge coupled device cameras (CCD)
Chemical process
Combustion fronts
Intermediate specie
Magnalium
Oscillatory combustion
Oscillatory fashion
Physical process
Solid combustion
Barium
Sulfur compounds
Combustion
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:264ee8f0-192e-4fa1-9fea-04f5fd9ebc0e
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/jp300573k
TNO identifier
460461
ISSN
1520-6106
Source
Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 116 (16), 4967-4975
Document type
article