Evidence for the transition from the diffusion-limit in aluminum particle combustion

This work presents experimental evidence that the transition from gas-phase diffusion-limited combustion for aluminum particles begins to occur at a particle size of 10 μm at a pressure of 8.5 atm. Measurements of the particle temperature by AlO spectroscopy and three-color pyrometry indicate that the peak temperature surrounding a burning particle approaches the aluminum boiling temperature as particle size is decreased to 10 μm when oxygen is the oxidizer. This reduction indicates that reactions are occurring at or near the particle surface rather than in a detached diffusion flame. When CO₂ is the oxidizer, the combustion temperatures remain near the aluminum boiling temperature for particles as large as 40 μm, indicating that the flame is consistently near the surface throughout this size range. Burn time measurements of 10 and 2.8 μm powders indicate that burn time is roughly proportional to particle diameter to the first power. The burn rates of micron- and nano-particles also show strong pressure dependence. These measurements all indicate that the combustion has deviated from the vapor-phase diffusion limit, and that surface or near-surface processes are beginning to affect the rate of burning. Such processes would have to be included in combustion models in order to accurately predict burning characteristics for aluminum with diameter less than 10 μm.     

Combustion response of an aluminum droplet burning in air

The combustion in air of a 100 μm-diameter aluminum droplet is studied by direct Navier–Stokes simulations. The model only considers the gas phase and includes a reduced Al/O₂ kinetic scheme with 8 species and 10 reactions. The model is validated against experimental burn time data and appears to be fairly correct despite its simplicity. The unsteady combustion is then investigated by superimposing an acoustic disturbance to the mean flow. The velocity-coupled response is computed for different frequencies and slip Reynolds numbers. A resonance peak is found to occur when the acoustic time scale matches the gas diffusion time scale. For lower frequencies however (typically below a few kHz), a quasi-steady regime seems to hold out which means that assuming quasi-steady combustion (e.g., given by a D² model) is valid in this case. In this regime, the computed response corresponds with a theoretical expression obtained by a linearization of the Ranz–Marshall correction term. This implies that unsteady aluminum combustion is strongly dependent on convection effects.     

Element segregation on the surfaces of pure aluminum foils

The surface segregation trend of trace elements in pure aluminum foils was investigated by density functional theory. The model of nine-layer Al(1 0 0) slab substituted partially by trace element atoms was proposed for calculating surface segregation energy. The calculating results show that (i) B, Mg, Si, Ga, Ge, Y, In, Sn, Sb, Pb and Bi exhibit negative segregation energy and possibly move to the surface, while Be, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zr exhibit positive segregation energies and migrated into the bulk; (ii) the segregation energy was found to be related with the covalent radius, the relaxed position at the surface of the substituting atom and the surface energy; (iii) the segregation behavior of trace element generates lots of defects and dislocation, which can increase the initial pitting nucleation sites in the surface of aluminum foils; (iv) the impurity atom concentration was tested with Pb-doped surfaces, the calculated negative segregation energies in all coverage increases rapidly with the Pb coverage. These conclusions are helpful for designing of the chemical composition and to advance the tunnel etching of aluminum foils.     

Numerical simulation of the 3-dimensional combustion of aluminized heterogeneous propellants

We report the first 3-dimensional simulations of aluminized propellant combustion, accounting for heat conduction in the solid, combustion in the gas-phase, and coupling of these via the irregularly moving propellant surface, one that can not be defined by a single-valued height function. The simulations are used to examine the dynamics of aluminum particles in the near-neighborhood of the surface after detachment, and to provide an estimate of the time to ignition of the particles, and their speed and height above the surface at ignition. In addition, we examine the temperature history of the particles during their rise to the surface, determine whether they melt or not, and in this way test Cohen’s well-known melting criterion. And, we discuss a simple model which provides insights into how aluminum particles floating on a binder melt layer would migrate because of surface tension effects, and calculate an average migration distance that is consistent with previous agglomeration studies.     

Combustion of alane and aluminum with water for hydrogen and thermal energy generation

The combustion of alane and aluminum with water in its frozen state has been studied experimentally and theoretically. Both nano and micron-sized particles are considered over a broad range of pressure. The linear burning rate and chemical efficiency are obtained using a constant-pressure strand burner and constant-volume cell, respectively. The effect of replacing nano-Al particles by micron-sized Al and alane particles are examined systematically with the additive mass fraction up to 25%. The equivalence ratio is fixed at 0.943. The pressure dependence of the burning rate follows the power law, r_b = aPⁿ, with n ranging from 0.41 to 0.51 for all the materials considered. The burning rate decreases with increasing alane concentration, whereas it remains approximately constant with cases containing only Al particles. The chemical efficiency ranged from 32% to 83%, depending on the mixture composition and pressure. Thermo-chemical analyses are conducted to provide insight into underlying causes of the decreased burning rate of the alanized compositions. A theoretical model is also developed to explore the detailed flame structure and burning properties. Reasonably good agreement is achieved with experimental observations.     

Effect of nitrogen pressure on the combustion synthesis of titanium nitride

Abstract

Titanium nitride, TiN, has attractive physical and chemical properties such as hardness, chemical stability and electrical conductivity. It is a typical material with a wide range of stoichiometry. It can be synthesised by high pressure combustion synthesis. The composition and microstructures can vary with the experimental conditions especially with thermal treatment and nitrogen pressure.     

Nanophosphor aluminum oxide: Luminescence response of a potential dosimetric material

This work reports on the investigation of the radiation dosimetry properties of Al₂O₃ nanopowders. Samples were produced by solution combustion synthesis using three different organic fuels to check for the effect of synthesis conditions on the properties of interest. Luminescence characteristics were studied by thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques. We found that samples produced using urea have characteristics similar to bulk Al₂O₃:C and may be suitable for personal dosimetry, while samples produced using glycine and hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) may be more suitable for applications where fast OSL decay is advantageous. While these results are promising and warrant further investigation, much has to be done to overcome the greatly decreased luminescence intensity of the nanomaterials as compared to bulk Al₂O₃:C.     

切削用量对铝靶表面质量的影响

 采用单点金刚石切削技术，完成了对ICF实验用铝靶的切削加工，重点研究了切削用量对加工表面质量的影响。实验结果表明：采用较小的进给速度，较大的主轴转速能够获得较低的表面粗糙度，切削深度对表面质量影响较小。通过Form Talysurf 表面轮廓仪测量，结果表明表面粗糙度小于50 nm。     

Experimental study of the effect of helium/nitrogen concentration and initial droplet diameter on nonane droplet combustion with minimal convection

In this paper, we study the influence of inert concentration and initial droplet diameter on nonane (C₉H₂₀) droplet combustion in an environment that promotes spherical droplet flames. The oxygen concentration is fixed while the inert is varied between nitrogen and helium. A range of initial droplet diameters (D_o) are examined in each ambient gas: 0.4 mm < D_o < 0.8 mm; and an oxidizing ambiance consisting of 30% oxygen (fixed) and 70% inert (fixed), with the inert in turn composed of mixtures of nitrogen and helium in concentrations of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% N₂. The experiments are carried out at normal atmospheric pressure in a cold ambiance (room temperature) under low gravity to minimize the influence of convection and promote spherical droplet flames. For burning within a helium inert (0% N₂), the droplet flames are entirely blue and there is no influence of initial droplet diameter on the local burning rate (K). With increasing dilution by nitrogen, droplet flames show significant yellow luminosity indicating the presence of soot and the individual burning histories show K reducing with increasing D_o. The evolution of droplet diameter D(t) is nonlinear for a given D_o in the presence of either helium or nitrogen inerts indicating that soot formation has little to do with nonlinear burning. A correlation is presented of the data in the form where the effective burning rate, K′, and ε are concentration-dependent. Correlations for these parameters are presented in the paper.     

Adsorption characteristics of atomic nitrogen on ruthenium surfaces

We have studied the adsorption, vibration, and diffusion of N atoms on Ru(0 0 0 1), , and surfaces by means of the 5-parameter Morse potential (5-MP) of interaction between atomic nitrogen and a metal surface. The adsorption sites, adsorption geometry, binding energy and eigenvibration of atomic nitrogen on the different ruthenium surfaces are calculated. It is shown that atomic nitrogen always preferably occupies the high coordination sites on Ru surfaces. The 4-fold site is the preferable adsorption site for atomic nitrogen on both open and surfaces while 3-fold site is the most stable adsorption site for atomic nitrogen on both Ru(0 0 0 1) and surfaces. Moreover, we find the lowest energy pathway of diffusion and diffusion barriers of atomic nitrogen on the surfaces.     

Evaporation rates of droplet arrays in turbulent reacting flows

Studies of regularly ordered droplet arrays facilitate the analysis of local effects on evaporation rates. This work investigates, using Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS), the effects of droplet density and flow conditions on evaporation of kerosene droplets in inert and reactive convective environments. A novel model, coupling a mass conservative Level Set approach with the Ghost Fluid method, is used. The rates obtained from the DNS are compared to two evaporation models based on heat and mass transfer numbers commonly used for RANS methods and Large Eddy Simulations (LES). The results show that predictions of evaporation rates of dense sprays using these models has a limited success. The use of the 1/3-rule to calculate mixture properties results in underpredictions of the evaporation rates by around 20% to 50% in most of the cases studied. The models can only predict the DNS results accurately with errors lower than 2%, if the properties in the evaporation rate models are based on properties in the near field around the droplet. Further studies on the effects of turbulence on the evaporation process showed no evident correlation between the evaporation rates and the subgrid kinetic energy relating the effects of turbulence to vapour dispersion away from the droplet surface.     

Vaporization and combustion in three-dimensional droplet arrays

The quasi-steady vaporization and combustion of multiple-droplet arrays is studied numerically. Utilizing the Shvab–Zeldovich formulation, a transformation of the governing equations to a three-dimensional Laplace’s equation is performed, and the solution to Laplace’s equation is obtained numerically to find the effects of droplet interactions in symmetric, multiple-droplet arrays. Vaporization rates, flame surface shapes, and flame locations are found for different droplet array configurations and fuels. The number of droplets, the droplet arrangement within the arrays, and the droplet spacing within the arrays are varied to determine the effects of these parameters. Computations are performed for uniformly spaced three-dimensional arrays of up to 216 droplets, with center-to-center spacing ranging from 3 to 25 droplet radii. As a result of the droplet interactions, the number of droplets and relative droplet spacing significantly affect the vaporization rate of individual droplets within the array, and consequently the flame shape and location. For small droplet spacing, the individual droplet vaporization rate decreases below that obtained for an isolated droplet by several orders of magnitude. A similarity parameter which correlates vaporization rates with array size and spacing is identified. Individual droplet flames, internal group combustion, and external group combustion can be observed depending on the droplet geometry and boundary conditions.     

SEM-EDX study of the crystal structure of the condensed combustion products of the aluminum nanopowder burned in air under the different pressures

The experimental results of combustion of aluminum nanopowder (ANP) in air and AlN crystals formation process were studied. The air pressure during the combustion process significantly affected the crystals growth mechanism. Crystals with the different morphology (whiskers, hexagonal crystals, rods) were found in the condensed combustion products.     

Estimation of the transient interfacial heat flux between substrate/melt at the initiation of magnesium solidification on aluminum substrates using the lumped capacitance method

Interfacial heat flux (IHF) between solid pure aluminum/magnesium melt and solid 413 aluminum alloy/magnesium melt couples was evaluated using lumped capacitance method, and the interface microstructures were assessed by scanning electronic microscope. The variation of maximum IHF with surface roughness for these two couples also was evaluated. The results showed that, for both solid aluminum/magnesium melt couples, with increasing the surface roughness, the maximum IHF increases at first and then starts to decrease after reaching a maximum value. In addition the measured maximum IHF for solid 413 aluminum alloy/magnesium melt couples was found to be higher than those measured for solid pure aluminum/magnesium melt couples. That seems to be because of the better wettability of 413 aluminum alloy than pure aluminum, by magnesium melt.     

Solution combustion synthesis of nanomaterials

Solution combustion (SC) is an effective method for synthesis of nano-size materials and it has been used for the production of a variety (currently more than 1000) of fine complex oxide powders for different advanced applications, including catalysts, fuel cells, and biotechnology. However, it is surprising that while essentially all of the studies on SC emphasize the characterization of the synthesized materials, little information is available on controlling combustion parameters and the reaction mechanisms. This paper is devoted to the analysis of the combustion parameters for different SC reaction modes. First, the conventional volume combustion synthesis mode, which involves uniform reaction solution preheating prior to self-ignition, is briefly discussed. Second, for the first time, results of detailed experimental studies on steady-state self-propagating mode of SC synthesis of nano-powders are presented. Finally, the so-called solution + impregnation combustion mode is considered. The relationship between combustion parameters and product microstructures are emphasized. These results are crucial not only from the application stand-point, but more importantly lead to methodological benefits, allowing application of the developed approaches to investigate steady state heterogeneous combustion waves in new classes of reaction systems.     

Influence of combustion temperature and coal types on alumina crystal phase formation of high-alumina coal ash

The alumina content (more than 40%) of high-alumina coal ash is comparative to the middle content bauxite ores in China. So far, in order to meet the high demand of alumina and the rise of circular economy industrial chain, extracting alumina from coal ash has become a way to comprehensively utilize high-alumina coal ash. However, this process has high requirements on the crystal phase and stability of alumina. Different from most studies, this paper focuses on how to produce coal ash more beneficial to the later refining of aluminum. Therefore, the effects of combustion temperature and coal types by classifying high-alumina coal into dull coal and bright coal on alumina crystal phase formation were studied. Through proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, calorific value analysis, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and other methods, it is found that γ-Al₂O₃ in high-alumina coal ash translated into more stable θ-Al₂O₃ and finally α-Al₂O₃ when combustion temperature is higher than 1000°C. Thus compared with pulverized coal boilers, circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers with lower combustion temperature can produce higher quality coal ash. Moreover, at the same combustion temperature, alumina crystal phase in dull coal ash is relatively less stable than that in bright coal ash, which is more suitable to the later refining and electrolysis of aluminum.     

The thermodynamics of hydrogen-vacancy interactions in aluminum

The thermodynamic properties of Al-H solid solutions containing lattice vacancies have been discussed using an approach in which the grand canonical ensemble is used to elucidate the behavior of the Al-VAC-H system in Fermi-Dirac statistics. Calculations have been presented and compared for specific models in which H-atoms act both as a simple interstitial species and forms either decorated vacancies or substitutional defects.Vacancy concentrations concomitant to different levels of hydrogenization are calculated and approximate penetration curves for the ingress of vacancies from the metal surface are presented.     

Joint experimental and computational study of aluminum electron energy loss spectra

Experimental reflection electron energy loss (REEL) spectra are measured from aluminum for primary energies ranging from 130 eV to 2 keV. A Monte Carlo simulation is shortly described and used to calculate the same spectra. The focus is on reproducing the variable weight of surface and bulk losses as the surface sensitivity of spectra changes by changing the primary electron energy. The intensity of surface losses in the simulations is modulated by the thickness of the region where surface excitations occur. Simulations based either on a constant or an energy-dependent thickness for this layer are considered. In both cases, simulated spectra reproduce the experimental trend as a function of energy, though the correct surface-to-bulk intensity ratio for each energy is either underestimated or overestimated.     

Computational study of the surface properties of aluminum nanoparticles

We calculate the surface energy, surface stress, and lattice contraction of Al nanoparticles using ab initio density functional and empirical computational techniques. Ab initio calculations are carried out using the siesta pseudopotential method combined with the generalized gradient approximation. Empirical calculations are conducted using the embedded atom method. The ab initio density functional approach predicts the surface energies of Al nanoclusters to be in the range of 0.9-2.0 J/m². These values are consistent with the surface energy of bulk aluminum and are close to the surface energies of silver nanoparticles calculated in our previous study. In contrast to our previous results for Ag nanoparticles, we found a significant discrepancy between the theoretical values of surface energy and stress for Al nanoclusters. This result could be explained by a greater degree of surface reconstruction in Al clusters than in Ag clusters.     

Peculiarities of aluminum particle combustion in steam

This work experimentally addresses aluminum combustion in steam, pure or mixed with diluents, for aluminum particles in size range 40∼80 µm, using an electrodynamic levitator. High-speed videos unveil an unreported and complex mechanism in steam, not observed in other oxidizers. The detached flame is quite faint and very close to the surface. Alumina smoke around the droplet rapidly condenses and coalesces into a large, single orbiting alumina satellite. It eventually collides the main aluminum droplet while generating secondary alumina droplets. A unique feature is the presence of several distinct oxide lobes on the droplet, which merge only at the end of burning and encapsulate the remaining aluminum, possibly promoting an incomplete combustion. The measured burning times in pure water vapor are longer than expected and the efficiency of steam is found to be 30% that of oxygen, lower than the usually accepted value of 60%. A general correlation on burning time, including the major oxidizers, is proposed. Direct numerical simulations are conducted and are in line with experiments, in terms of burning rate or flame stand off ratio. Combustion in steam seems mostly supported by surface reactions, giving a faint flame with low gas temperatures and high hydrogen content. It is speculated that those two specific features could help explain the peculiarity of steam.