Surface Temperature of Agglomerated Aluminum Particles in a Reaction Zone

What is it about?

Aluminum (Al) particles are used as a metal fuel to increase the propulsion performance of composite propellants in solid rockets. As such, the combustion mechanism of Al has received considerable research attention.Therefore, it is necessary to study the agglomerated Al particle surface. In this study, we investigate the dependence of Al particle surface on the atmospheric pressure and on the particle diameter.

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Why is it important?

Al gas reacts with surrounding oxidizers and creates the diffusion flame. The evaporation time is proportional to the square of the particle diameter, with a constant of proportionality that depends on the temperature difference between the luminous flame and the agglomerated Al particle surface. The luminous flame temperature is easily obtained theoretically, but the surface temperature is yet to be obtained experimentally. If the surface temperature could be obtained, the difference between the boiling temperature and the surface temperature of Al particles would be clarified. We established that the surface temperature is lower than the boiling temperature of Al. The mean surface temperature is a constant with respect to the particle diameter from 100 to 500 µm at 0.1 MPa. Also, we clarified that the surface temperature is determined by energy balance at Al particle surface.This study is important in study the agglomerated Al particle surface.

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