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Thermochemical study of the detonation properties of boron- and aluminum-containing compounds in air and water

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Abstract

Contrary to the conventional chemical propulsion systems based on the controlled relatively slow (subsonic) combustion of fuel in a combustor, the operation process in pulsed detonation engines (PDEs) and rotating detonation engines (RDEs) is based on the controlled fast (supersonic) combustion of fuel in pulsed and continuous detonation waves, respectively. One of the most important issues for such propulsion systems is the choice of fuel with proper reactivity and exothermicity required for a sustained and energy-efficient operation process. Presented in the paper are the results of thermodynamic calculations of the detonation parameters of boron- and aluminum-containing compounds (B, B\(_{{2}}\)H\(_{{6}}\), B\(_{{5}}\)H\(_{{9}}\), B\(_{{10}}\)H\(_{{14}}\), Al, AlH\(_{{3}}\), Al(C\(_{{2}}\)H\(_{{5}})_{{3}}\), and Al(CH\(_{{3}})_{{3}})\) in air and water. The results demonstrate the potential feasibility of using the considered compounds as fuels for both air- and water-breathing transportation vehicles powered with PDEs and RDEs. As a verification of the reliability of the calculated results, the detonation parameters of diborane, aluminum, and isopropyl nitrate in air were compared with experimental data available in the literature.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a subsidy given to Semenov Federal Research Center for Chemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences to implement the state assignment with Registration Number 122040500073-4 and by a subsidy given to the Federal State Institution “Scientific Research Institute for System Analysis of the Russian Academy of Sciences” to implement the state assignment on the topic No. FNEF-2022-0005 (Registration No. 1021060708369-1-1.2.1). The data will be available on request.

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  1. Department of Combustion and Explosion, Semenov Federal Research Center for Chemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    K. A. Byrdin & S. M. Frolov

  2. Department of Computational Mathematics, Federal State Institution “Scientific Research Institute for System Analysis of the Russian Academy of Sciences”, Moscow, Russia

    S. M. Frolov

  3. State Research Center “State Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Organo-Element Compounds” (SRC), Moscow, Russia

    P. A. Storozhenko & S. L. Guseinov

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Byrdin, K.A., Frolov, S.M., Storozhenko, P.A. et al. Thermochemical study of the detonation properties of boron- and aluminum-containing compounds in air and water. Shock Waves 33, 501–520 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00193-023-01150-5

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