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RDX flame structure at atmospheric pressure

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Abstract

The chemical structure of an RDX flame at a pressure of 1 atm was studied using probing molecular beam mass spectrometry. The flame was found to contain RDX vapor, and its concentration profile was measured in a narrow zone adjacent to the burning surface. In addition to RDX vapor, ten more species were identified (H2, H2O, HCN, N2, CO, CH2O, NO, N2O, CO2 and NO2), and their concentration profiles were measured. Two main chemical-reaction zones were found in the RDX flame. In the first, narrow, zone 0.15 mm wide adjacent to the burning surface, decomposition of RDX vapor and the reaction of NO2, N2O, and CH2O with the formation of HCN and NO occur. In the second, wide, zone 0.85 mm wide, HCN is oxidized by NO to form the final combustion products. The composition of the final combustion products was analyzed from an energetic point of view. The measured composition of the products near the burning surface was used to determine the global reaction of RDX gasification at a pressure of 1 atm. Values of heat release in the condensed-phase calculated by the global gasification reaction and by the equation of heat balance on the burning surface (using data of microthermocouple measurements) were analyzed and compared.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 630090

    E. N. Volkov, A. A. Paletsky & O. P. Korobeinichev

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  1. E. N. Volkov
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  2. A. A. Paletsky
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  3. O. P. Korobeinichev
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Correspondence to O. P. Korobeinichev.

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Translated from Fizika Goreniya i Vzryva, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 49–62, January–February, 2008.

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Volkov, E.N., Paletsky, A.A. & Korobeinichev, O.P. RDX flame structure at atmospheric pressure. Combust Explos Shock Waves 44, 43–54 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10573-008-0007-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10573-008-0007-z

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