Synthesizing aluminum particles towards controlling electrostatic discharge ignition sensitivity

Aluminum particles were synthesized with shell thicknesses ranging from 2.7 to 8.3 nm and a constant diameter of 95 nm. These fuel particles were combined with molybdenum trioxide particles and the electrostatic discharge (ESD) sensitivity of the mixture was measured. Results show ignition delay increased as the alumina shell thickness increased. These results correlated with electrical resistivity measurements of the mixture which increased with alumina concentration. A model was developed using COMSOL for ignition of a single Al particle. The ignition delay in the model was consistent with the experimental results suggesting that the primary ESD ignition mechanism is joule heating.     

Desensitizing nano powders to electrostatic discharge ignition

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a main cause for ignition in powder media ranging from grain silos to fireworks. Nanoscale particles are orders of magnitude more ESD ignition sensitive than their micron scale counterparts. This study shows that at least 13 vol. % carbon nanotubes (CNT) added to nano-aluminum and nano-copper oxide particles (nAl + CuO) eliminates ESD ignition sensitivity. The CNT act as a conduit for electric energy and directs electric charge through the powder to desensitize the reactive mixture to ignition. For nanoparticles, the required CNT concentration for desensitizing ESD ignition acts as a diluent to quench energy propagation.     

Laboratory ignition of hydrogen and carbon disulphide in the atmospheric air by positive corona discharge

Experimental attempts of ignition of sensitive explosive atmospheres by continuous positive corona discharges in coaxial electrode system were conducted in laboratory conditions. Sixty five explosions of hydrogen (H₂) and forty of carbon disulphide (CS₂) were forced. Both atmospheres were ignited by the minimum power 1–2 W, the minimum ignition current 100–130 μA at the ignition voltages 12–30 kV (for CS₂) and 16.5–25 kV (H₂). To prevent the energetic sparks, the high voltage resistor 1 MΩ was introduced in series with corona wire.     

Electrostatic discharge sensitivity and electrical conductivity of composite energetic materials

Composite energetic material response to electrical stimuli was investigated and a correlation between electrical conductivity and ignition sensitivity was examined. The composites consisted of micrometer particle aluminum combined with another metal, metal oxide, or fluoropolymer. Of the nine tested mixtures, aluminum (Al) with copper oxide (CuO) was the only mixture to ignite by electrostatic discharge. Under the loose powder conditions of these experiments, the Al–CuO minimum ignition energy (MIE) is 25 mJ and exhibited an electrical conductivity two orders of magnitude higher than the next composite. This study showed a similar trend in MIE for ignition triggered by a discharged spark compared with a thermal hot wire source.     

静电放电引起2SC3356潜在失效的研究

 研究了低电压的人体模型(HBM)静电放电（ESD）对微电子器件造成的潜在失效。分别从CB结和EB结对2SC3356晶体管施加低电压HBM的ESD应力,结果表明：从CB结施加低电压的ESD电应力,所产生的潜在失效的几率要高于从EB结施加低电压的ESD电应力产生的潜在失效几率,即CB结比EB结对低电压的ESD应力引入的潜在失效更为敏感。高温（≥125 ℃）寿命实验有退火效应,从而缓解了低电压的ESD应力使器件产生的潜在损伤,使静电放电过程中引入的潜在损伤自恢复。     

High-order numerical simulation and modelling of the interaction of energetic and inert materials

We present an integrated algorithm on a Eulerian grid, for multimaterial simulations of energetic and inert materials modelled by non-ideal equations of state. We employ high-resolution shock capturing numerical algorithms for each material inside its domain and use an overlap domain method across the interface, maintained by a recently developed, hybrid, level-set algorithm. For applications to condensed explosives we implement a non-ideal, wide-ranging equation of state and reaction rate law. For inert materials, like plastic, metal, water, etc., we implement a (linear in the pressure) Mie–Grüneisen, (U _p ?U _s ), equation of state. We present a series of verifications of the integrated multimaterial code and show validations against experiment. We show examples of simulations of various experiments associated with real or planned experiments, some of which contain energetic materials (specifically the condensed explosives PBX-9502 and PBX-9501).     

接近速度对空气静电放电特性的影响

 通过理论分析和实验测量,研究了导体接近速度对空气放电的影响。理论计算了两导体相互接近时导体的自（互）电容系数、导体电势差、导体电势差随导体间的间隙（放电间隙）的变化率和导体电势差的时间变化率。实验研究了5 kV和10 kV放电电压下放电电流峰值和耦合电压峰-峰值随接近速度的变化关系。接近速度直接决定了空气击穿时导体电势差的时间变化率,同时也就决定了不同速度下的空气放电特性;接近速度影响了火花击穿的时间延迟,从而对空气放电产生了时间效应。     

Effects of fuel and oxidizer particle dimensions on the propagation of aluminum containing thermites

Results from combustion experiments, in which the fuel and oxidizer particle sizes of Al/CuO and Al/MoO₃ thermites were varied between the nanometer and micrometer scale, are presented to gain further insight into the factors governing their rate of propagation. The experiments were performed with thermite mixtures loosely packed in an instrumented burn tube. Critical properties, including linear propagation rates, dynamic pressure, and spectral emission, were measured and compared to determine if the scale of one constituent had more influence over the rate of propagation than the other. It was found that, although nano-fuel/nano-oxidizer composites propagated the fastest for both the Al/CuO and Al/MoO₃ thermites, composites containing micron-aluminum and a nano-scale oxidizer propagated significantly faster than a composite of nano-aluminum and a micron-scale oxidizer. The impact of nano-scale oxidizer versus nano-scale Al is twofold. Firstly, mixtures containing nano-aluminum have a greater mass percentage of Al₂O₃, which reduces reaction temperatures and propagation rates. Secondly, reactions in porous nano-thermites propagate through a convective mechanism; with heat transfer being driven by flow induced by large pressure gradients. Mixtures containing nano-scale oxidizer particles show faster pressurization rates. Because the majority of gas generation is due to the decomposition or vaporization of the oxide in these reactions, and oxide particles on the nano-scale have shorter heat-up times and smaller length scales for gas diffusion than micron particles, convective burning is greatly enhanced with the nano-scale oxidizer.     

Synthesis and ignition of energetic CuO/Al core/shell nanowires

Energetic thermites (mixtures of Al and metal oxides), due to their high energy densities, have broad applications in propulsion, thermal batteries, waste disposal, and power generation for micro systems. Reducing the sizes of Al and metal oxides down to the nanoscale has been shown to be effective in increasing their reaction rates and reducing their ignition delays. However, it remains a challenge to create mixtures of Al and metal oxides with nanoscale uniformity. Here we report synthesis and ignition studies on thermites with a new nanostructure, i.e., CuO/Al core/shell nanowires (NWs). The CuO NW cores were synthesized by the thermal annealing of copper films and served as templates for the deposition of Al shells by subsequent sputtering. The advantage of such a core/shell NW structure is that CuO and Al are uniformly mixed at the nanoscale. The onset temperatures of the exothermic reaction of the core/shell NWs were similar to those of nanoparticle (NP)-based thermites in terms of magnitude, insensitivity to equivalence ratios and sensitivity to heating rates. Moreover, the core/shell NW thermites, compared to NP-based thermites, exhibit greatly improved mixing uniformity and reduced activation energy for the thermite reaction.     

Effect of air flow on corona discharge in wire-to-plate electrostatic precipitator

This paper analyses corona discharge in ambient air with laboratory-scaled wire-to-plate electrostatic precipitator (WPESP). The electric field is behind the electro hydrodynamic (EHD) flow in air. Its measurements provide complementary results for the corona discharge study because the classical theory based on the current and voltage data is unsatisfactory. Taking into account the dynamic air flow velocity is perpendicular to the active wires, measurement method of the positive and negative DC corona current density and electric field, has been introduced. It has been shown also that the dynamic air flow velocity modifies the current density and the electric field distributions on the planes surfaces of the WPESP.     

Formation of Polyvinyl Alcohol film with graphene nanoplatelets and carbon black for electrostatic discharge protective packaging

This research investigated the synergic effect of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and carbon black (CB) as a blended conductive filler for polymer film used as electrostatic discharge (ESD) packaging materials. Various weight ratios of GNPs/CB and combined filler concentrations were mixed and processed into Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVOH) based film. The surface resistivity and volume resistivity of the resulting film was measured under three different humidity environments. The study found that the composite with GNPs/CB ratios of 10:90 and 30:70 resulted in a sharp drop in surface resistivity by 5–8 orders of magnitude at the filler loading 8-10 wt%. The volume resistivity of the resulting film exhibited steady and consistent ranges within 10⁸–10¹² Ω cm across all loadings. The difference in conductivity between surface and volume made the film possible to be used in protecting equipment against electrostatic discharges inside of a package. The high loading of GNPs in hybrid GNPs/CB had no effect on enhancing both surface and volume conductivity of the composite film.     

静电放电电磁场与金属腔体孔缝耦合的数值研究

 用时域有限差分方法研究了静电放电火化产生的电磁场在其近场区域与带孔缝金属腔体的耦合问题，基于修正的静电放电火化偶极子模型和脉冲函数放电电流解析表达式，建立了耦合数值模型，经过计算分析表明，腔体内孔缝周围分布着比较强的静电感应场，而耦合进腔体的瞬变场可以使腔体发生TE₁₀₁模为主的腔体谐振，但谐振幅度不大。     

脉冲大电流放电引爆含能材料产生冲击波的储层改造

介绍了复合电热化学法产生冲击波的机理和冲击波改善储层物性的机制;给出了脉冲大电流引爆含能材料弹丸的结构和典型的放电参数,开展了冲击波致裂储层的实验研究;检测了样品在冲击作用下的动态应变及影响储层解吸附特性的关键参数（包括孔隙度、渗透率、抗拉、抗压强度等）,并在实验前后进行了测量和对比。研究表明,电热化学法产生的冲击波可在圆柱形砂岩样品上产生幅值为1000~1500的应变量,使砂岩出现了宏观裂缝;样品平均孔隙度由15.24%增至15.62%,平均渗透率由1.749 0910-3 m2增至2.467 0810-3 m2;抗压、抗拉和抗剪强度均下降了约30%。     

Electric ignition energy evaluation and the energy distribution structure of energy released in electrostatic discharge process

Ignition energy is one of the important parameters of flammable materials, and evaluating ignition energy precisely is essential to the safety of process industry and combustion science and technology. By using electric spark discharge test system, a series of electric spark discharge experiments were conducted with the capacitor-stored energy in the range of 10 J, 100 J, and 1000 J, respectively. The evaluation method for energy consumed by electric spark, wire, and switch during capacitor discharge process has been studied respectively. The resistance of wire, switch, and plasma between electrodes has been evaluated by different methods and an optimized evaluation method has been obtained. The electric energy consumed by wire, electric switch, and electric spark-induced plasma between electrodes were obtained and the energy structure of capacitor-released energy was analyzed. The dynamic process and the characteristic parameters(the maximum power, duration of discharge process) of electric spark discharge process have been analyzed. Experimental results showed that, electric spark-consumed energy only accounts for 8%–14% of the capacitor-released energy. With the increase of capacitor-released energy, the duration of discharge process becomes longer, and the energy of plasma accounts for more in the capacitor-released energy. The power of electric spark varies with time as a damped sinusoids function and the period and the maximum value increase with the capacitor-released energy.     

Morphological study of the localized growth of materials in dielectric barrier discharge

The localized growth of materials has been realized in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor in the mixture of acetylene and argon in previous work. In this paper, the morphology of the materials synthesized in the process is studied. The results indicate that the polymer's structure consists of three layers. The layer near the substrate is homogeneous with thickness of several micrometres; the middle layer is composed of dense bulges with height of about more than 10μm in average. The distance between two neighbouring bulges is about 230μm; the top layer is made up of a few large columns with the height up to 2mm, and with the average distance of about 3.5mm. The growth of the three layers corresponds to three types of discharge. The discharge mechanism is analysed through studying the morphology of the polymer. It can be deduced from the morphology that the first and second discharge phases should belong to the Townsend breakdown, and the last discharge phase should be explained on the basis of the streamer mechanism.     

Preparation of PVOH coatings with graphene nanoplatelets for electrostatic discharge protective packaging

This study investigated the use of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) as a conductive filler for electrostatic discharge (ESD) protective packaging. Various weight concentrations of GNP were mixed and sonicated with polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH). The resulting polymer solution was applied as a coating to corrugated board in order to form an ESD packaging. Surface resistivity, mechanical strength and coating adhesion were then measured. The study found that the electrical percolation threshold of the PVOH/GNP coating is 9–13wt% GNP. GNP incorporated PVOH coatings with surface resistivity of 10³–10⁸ Ω/sq. generally meet all of ESD packaging requirements. The humidity strongly affects the surface resistivity of the coatings below the percolation threshold, but the change of the surface resistivity with humidity is less significant above the percolation threshold.     

Research on the possibility of ignition of materials by electrostatic discharge in pure oxygen environment at different pressures

In spacecraft environments, spacesuits materials such as textiles, leather, or other materials are used in a pure oxygen environment. The materials are in serious risk of being ignited by electrostatic discharge (ESD) and may cause fire and even disasters or death of astronauts. In this paper, a well sealed chamber was first developed for ignition test. Then, ignition tests of four textiles and leather materials were carried out under oxygen pressures of 42 kPa, 101 kPa and 142 kPa using different ESD models. It is concluded that the materials are more easily ignited at higher oxygen pressure.     

Triboelectrification of granular insulating materials as affected by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) treatment

The aim of this paper is to point out the influence of dielectric barrier discharge treatment on tribocharging of granular insulating materials. Particles of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Polypropylene (PP) were subjected to an AC dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment in ambient airprior to tribocharging in a vibratory device. The charge to mass ratio was measured for treated and untreated materials. Electrostatic separation of a mixture of granular materials (PVC and PP) to measure the effectiveness of DBD treatment was evaluated by processing treated and untreated PVC/PP granular mixtures in a free-fall electrostatic separator. The obtained results clearly indicate that DBD has the capability to influence surface charging proprieties of polymer granular materials. In case of short treatment time, typically less than 3 s, a marked increase in the charge to mass ratios was observed for both PVC (about 35%) and PP (roughly 45%). In the same way, the quantity of DBD-treated materials, recovered after electrostatic separation, was increased by about 104% and 30% for PVC and PP, respectively, as compared to untreated case. The DBD treatment time is a key factor to increase the tribo electric effect.     

Neutralization of charged dielectric materials using a dielectric barrier discharge

Safety and efficiency are two characteristics that must be satisfied by an electric charge neutralizer. The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), which has the advantage of preventing arc transition, is an interesting tool to safely neutralize unwanted charge. This paper is aimed at studying the efficiency of neutralizing charged polyethylene (PE) granules by using a dielectric barrier discharge. During this study, several factors were considered such as the amplitude and the frequency of the AC voltage, the polarity and the charging mode of the samples, as well as the electrode configuration. Two DBD electrode configurations were considered: simple DBD and a DBD with installed metallic grid. The obtained results show that using the DBD can lead to excellent neutralization results when the grid is installed. With the appropriate voltage amplitude and frequency and with grid installed, the elimination of nearly 99% of the initial surface charges can be achieved. The metallic grid placed between the DBD electrode and the target enhances significantly the neutralization efficiency.     

飞行器GNSS接收机静电放电干扰效应分析

针对飞行器全球卫星导航系统接收机易受静电放电干扰的问题,研究了机体表面电晕放电与机务维修火花放电对接收机的干扰效应。分析了静电放电的时频域特征,使用针球电极与高压源组成的模拟器开展了电晕放电对接收机的前门耦合实验,证明了电晕脉冲产生的辐射场对接收机无明显干扰效应。基于人体金属ESD模型开展了火花放电对接收机的干扰效应实验,发现浪涌电流易导致接收机串口转换芯片电位波动,读写程序主循环卡死,应针对串口端进行静电阻抗器防护。