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Electric-Spark Initiation of Nanothermites

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Combustion, Explosion, and Shock Waves Aims and scope

Abstract

The electric-spark initiation of thermite mixtures based on nanosized powders of aluminum and copper oxide has been studied. Data on the effect of the electric spark discharge energy on the ignition delay were obtained. During the initiation of long cylindrical samples of mixtures with a low-current spark, two types of unsteady combustion were observed. The first type is characterized by the exponential establishment of constant burning rate. The second type is characterized by regions with incomplete reaction in the main propagation direction. To obtain steady combustion of a thermite mixture with a minimum ignition delay time, it is necessary to use a discharge energy of more than 5 mJ per 1 mm2 of the mixture surface.

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Correspondence to A. Yu. Dolgoborodov.

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Translated from Fizika Goreniya i Vzryva, 2023, Vol. 59, No. 4, pp. 85-92. https://doi.org/10.15372/FGV20230410.

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Dolgoborodov, A.Y., Yankovskii, B.D., Arsenov, P.A. et al. Electric-Spark Initiation of Nanothermites. Combust Explos Shock Waves 59, 471–478 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S001050822304010X

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S001050822304010X

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