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Combustion, Explosion, and Shock Waves, Vol. 34, No.

2, 1998

Influence of Liquid Hydrocarbons on the Ignition


o f M e t a l P o w d e r s in S h o c k W a v e s
V. M. Boiko 1 and S. V. Poplavski I

UDC 534.222 + 541.126

Translated from Fizika Goreniya i Vzryva, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 108-113, Maxch-April, 1998.
Original article submitted January 9, 1997.
I g n i t i o n o f m i x t u r e s o f m e t a l p o w d e r s w i t h liquid h y d r o c a r b o n fuels in a n a t m o s p h e r e
of p u r e o x y g e n a n d air b e h i n d reflected shock waves is s t u d i e d e x p e r i m e n t a l l y . It is
shown t h a t t h e i g n i t i o n delays for t h e m i x t u r e s are d e t e r m i n e d b y t h e liquid phase~
a n d t h e t i m e s o f c o m b u s t i o n a r e p r i m a r i l y d e t e r m i n e d b y t h e p a r t i c l e size o f t h e solid
phase.

Because of the explosion hazard of powder materials, considerable attention has been given to the
investigation of ignition and combustion of dust suspensions in shock waves (SW). The most important
characteristics are dependences of the ignition delays tign on the gas-phase temperature and oxygen
concentration. Most of the empirical data are obtained in studies under stationary conditions, i.e., in
heated quartz tubes, burners, etc. These studies revealed the main kinetic mechanism of oxidation for
a large number of metals with a low temperature of
ignition and a high calorific value (Al, Mg, Ti, Zn,
Mn, etc.), various organic dusts, and liquid aerosols.
In these studies, the heating rate was rather low and
the measured ignition delays far exceeded those observed in shock tubes. However, to calculate the ignition delays in SW, one should know the kinetics of
metal oxidation during the time of existence of SW
and not within seconds or minutes, as is usually the
case under stationary conditions.
A rather small number of papers (see, for example, [1, 2]) have been devoted to the ignition characteristics of suspensions of liquids and solids in gases
behind incident and reflected SW. The main goal
of these studies was to establish the detonatability
of various heterogeneous mixtures, which is determined from comparison of values of tign for dustgas mixtures with those for gas mixtures taken as
the standard. Most of the available empirical data
on the ignition delays of metal dusts in SW are explained by the mechanism of heat exchange with the
1Institute of Theoretical and Applied Meci~anics,
Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences,
Novosibirsk 630090.

gas phase, and, hence, they are predictable to the


extent to which the computational model takes into
account the features of the behavior of the gas and
the particles in the interaction of SW with the disperse system. In the most general form, these features include the set of physical processes involved
in the formation of an equilibrium two-phase mixture
behind the SW front propagating in the disperse system. Among them are the processes of mixture formation and the mechanisms of velocity and thermal
relaxation of the phases. Most of these mechanisms
are known although they have not been investigated
in detail.
There are, however, "unpredictable" regimes of
sudden spontaneous self-ignition of particles, which,
because of their unpredictability and the character of
development of the process, are also a certain hazard.
For example, Boiko et al. [3] described an anomalous
ignition regime of aluminum powders in oxygen behind reflected SW at temperatures way below the
critical temperature (Tcr -~ 1800 K). This regime is
characterized by a small fraction of ignited particles
(which is not identical from experiment to experiment), simultaneous ignition of particles of different
diameters, including rather large particles, and poor
reproducibility of results, i.e., a large spread of ignition delays under the same experimental conditions.
All this indicates distinct unstable behavior of the
system, which is, generally speaking, typical of any
reaction mixture under critical conditions of ignition.
Of importance in this case may be random factors
such as local overheating of the medium, imperfections of the particle shape and surface, the presence
of a small fraction of foreign particles, etc. and not

0010-5082/98/3402-0215 $20.00 (D 1998 Plenum Publishing Corporation

215

216

Boiko

and

Poplavskii

Fig. 1. Streak records of ignition of suspensions in oxygen: T5 = 1370 K a n d p5 = 2.6 MPa; a) 2 m g pure tridecane;
b) 2 mg tridecane + 0.2 m g Mg; c) 2 mg tridecane + 2 mg Mg; d) 2 nag tridecane + 1 mg AI.

Fig. 2. Streak records of ignition of suspensions: Ts = 1200 K and p5 = 4.2 MPa; a) oxygen -}- tridecane + Al; b) air
+ tridecane + AI; c) air "t" isopropylnitrate + A1.

Influence o f Liquid H y d r o c a r b o n s on t h e I g n i t i o n of M e t a l P o w d e r s in Shock Waves


the averaged parameters of the system.
The
phenomenon
of
anomalous "low-temperature" ignition of individual particles would be of purely academic interest if, under
some conditions, it did not cause a well-reproducible
ignition regime for the entire specimen [3]. This circumstance extends the ignition temperature range
for metal dusts, and, in hazard, it ranks anomalous
ignition among "standard" regimes. It has been established [3] that one condition for the ignition effect
of anomalous particles on the bulk of the specimen is
a high concentration of the dust-gas mixture, but the
nature of the anomalous particles is unknown. Moreover, there may be several mechanisms of anomalous
ignition. In the present paper, we examine one of
them, namely the initiation of "low-temperature" ignition of aluminum and magnesium powders in SW
by highly inflammable liquids (HIL).

EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE
In the present work, we continue previous studies [3-5] and use the methods described there,
namely, pulsed multiframe shadowgraphs and photochronography, to record the spatial-temporal pattern of ignition of dusty gases behind SW at the level
of individual particles.
The radiation of burning particles was recorded
through a 4 x 100 mm glass window by a ZhFR-1
camera operating in the nominal regime of a photochronograph. To synchronize the process with the
moment of arrival of the SW at the reflecting wall
and to introduce a time scale, we used a laser stroboscope. The first laser pulse appeared 100/~sec after
the arrival of a signal from the piezotransducer installed on the reflecting wall. Images of light marks
are visible in the bottom part of the streak records.
Experiments were performed with the following
metal-dust specimens:
ASD-l-type aluminum powder 99.2% pure with
spherical particles scattered into narrow fractions
by an air-centrifugal qualifier; fractions of 3-5 and
10-14/~m were used;
spheroidized magnesium powder with a particle
size of 40--63/~m produced by screening.
The
combustible liquids were kerosene, isopropylnitrate
(C3HvNO2), and tridecane (n-C13H2s)' - - a chemically pure saturated hydrocarbon that enters into
the composition of kerosenes and other liquid fuels.

217

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
The influence of the HIL on the preignition heating of metal particles in reflected SW was investigated by stages. Initially, concentrations typical of
suspensions were used, and then the liquid fraction
of the system was decreased to ~ < 10 -2, at which
only a small fraction of the specimen is wetted with
a HIL.
I g n i t i o n of Suspensions. A liquid mixture of
a hydrocarbon fuel and a powder was used as a model
object, because the breakup and ignition of the liquid
component of this system in a SW was previously investigated in detail by the authors [6, 7]. In the series
of experiments described here, a drop of the suspension with a constant mass of tridecane of 2 mg was
placed in a cup, which was fixed on a thin tungsten
wire and installed at the level of the channel axis
of a shock tube 70 mm from the reflecting wall. The
mixture was sprayed in an incident SW, and ignition
of the spray was observed in a reflected SW.
Figure 1 shows typical camera streak records of
this process. The experiments were carried out under
the same conditions at a temperature and pressure
of oxygen in the reflected SW equal to Ts = 1370 K
and p5 = 2.6 MPa, respectively, for an incident-SW
Mach number M = 3. The temperature was equal
to the critical temperature of Mg ignition. From the
streak records presented it is evident that
ignition is observed for pure tridecane and suspensions containing not only Mg but also Al, for which
the ignition temperature (Ter ~ 1800 K) is much
higher than T5 behind the reflected SW;
w the ignition delays of the suspensions are determined by the liquid, and the metal-powder particles
in the spray are ignited 20--40 psec later;
the combustion time for the suspension is larger
than the combustion time for a drop of the pure liquid and is determined by the particle size and the
amount of powder in the drop.
A similar picture was observed for the other
HIL such as kerosene, isopropylnitrate, etc. But it
is more significant that, in the presence of HIL, aluminum is ignited at even lower temperatures of oxygen (Fig. 2a) and in air (Fig. 2b). Figure 2 illustrates
ignition of suspensions in the case where the gas temperature and pressure behind the reflected SW are
Ts = 1200 K and ps -- 4.2 MPa, respectively, and
the incident-SW Mach number M = 2.8. At these
SW parameters, aluminum is also ignited with isopropylnitrate. In this case, the ignition delay is half
that in the case of tridecane, which agrees well with
the behavior of the pure liquids.
Summarizing the above facts, we note the following:

218

Boiko a n d Poplavskii

Fig. 3. Streakrecords of ignition of aluminumpowder and a liquid initiating component in air with separate placement of
them (Ts = 1500 K and Ps = 2.0 MPa).

- - although the masses of the liquid and the metal


powders are comparable, no influence of the metals
on the ignition delays of the HIL was observed;
replacement of oxygen by air increases the ignition
delay of the suspension (by a factor of ~3) and the
explosive combustion in oxygen becomes deflagration
in air; the same behavior was previously observed for
pure tridecane [7].
Thus, the ignition delays for the suspensions are
determined by the values of ~iga for the pure liquids. The insensitivity of the ignition parameters of
the HIL to the presence of the considerable mass
of the solid component appears to be related to the
breakup of droplets of the suspension in the incident
SW. Actually, at the moment of ignition of the HIL,
a three-phase, four-component (with allowance for
the oxidizer) system occurs here. Combustion of this
system proceeds by the following scheme:
ignition and combustion of HIL vapor increases
the temperature of the gas mixture considerably,
thus facilitating further evaporation of the HIL and
heating of the solid-phase particles;
20-40 psec after ignition of HIL vapor, the temperature of a certain portion of the smallest metal
particles increases to the critical value Tcr and they
are ignited;
the increase in the temperature of the medium
due to the combustion of small-sized particles causes
further heating of the bulk of the metal particles (to
the same value Tcr) and their ignition.
The data given above do not indicate whether
the HIL is actually present on the particle surface at
the moment of particle ignition or whether the HIL
film influences the particle ignition (surface oxidation, activation of the oxide film, etc.). Below we give
some experimental observations that give answers to
these questions.
I g n i t i o n o f N o n p r e m i x e d Fttel C o m p o nents. The insensitivity of the HIL to the presence of
the solid component during ignition of a drop of the
- -

- -

suspension means that mixing (droplet breakup and


evaporation of the microspray) and ignition of the
microspray of the suspension follow the same mechanisms as for the pure liquids. The above-mentioned
scheme of the process implies that in the microspray
HIL is present both as drops of the pure liquid and as
a film on the particles, but the latter does not influence the ignition of the liquid phase. After ignition of
the HIL, the particles are heated by the heat-transfer
mechanism limited by the thermal conduction of the
combustion products. Experiments on the ignition
of nonpremixed solid and liquid components confirm
this statement.
Figure 3 shows a typical streak record of ignition
of aluminum powder and a liquid initiating component in air with separate placement of the powder
and the liquid in the shock-tube channel. An ASD-1
powder specimen with a mass of 10 mg and a particle
size of 3-5 pm w ~ placed on a plane substrate at the
level of the channel axis and a drop of the initiating
liquid with a mass of 2 mg was placed 5 mm streamwise. The Mach number of the incident SW was
M - 3.3. A similar picture was observed for other
methods of placement of the components. These experiments indicate that wetting of the powder by the
liquid fuel and separate placement of these components in the tube do not have a significant effect on
the ignition delay or the combustion characteristics
of the system.
I n f l u e n c e o f H I L on t h e I g n i t i o n of
P o w d e r Layer. Analysis of explosions of dust-air
mixtures in transport tunnels of elevators (mills,
heat and power plants, etc.) shows that the presence of a cloud of dust prepared for combustion is
not necessary for explosion. Such a mixture can be
formed when weak SWs slide at a gas velocity of
~10-20 m/sec above layers of combustible dust depositions. Thus, a weak initial explosion, raising dust
and leading to the formation of a combustible mixture with a concentration sufficient for flame propaa

Influence of Liquid Hydrocarbons

o n t h e I g n i t i o n o f M e t a l P o w d e r s in S h o c k W a v e s

219

F i g . 4. S t r e a k r e c o r d s of ignition of a l u m i n u m p o w d e r in oxygen: Ts --- 1100 K a n d p5 = 3.4 M P a ; a) p u r e A1;


b) i s o p r o p y l n i t r a t e -I- AI a t L = 5 ram; c) isopropyhaitrate -I" A1 a t L = 50 ram.

gation, can be responsible for a secondary explosion,


provided that the flame arises at rather low temperatures. Thus, as applied to the layers, the role of HIL
in low-temperature ignition is as follows: whether a
small additive of HIL can initiate ignition followed
by transition to a self-sustained combustion regime
behind the reflected SW propagating above the dust
layer.
In this connection, we performed a series of experiments on low-temperature ignition of A1 powders
placed as a thin layer on the lower wall of the channel. In this case, a small portion of HIL (~1 mg)
was placed on the powder layer at various distances
L from the reflecting end. The liquid spread, wetting
a minor portion of the dust specimen, and the rest
of the specimen remained dry.
Figure 4 shows typical streak records of ignition of an A1 powder layer (the fraction 1 0 - 1 4 / J m
of ASD-1 powder) in oxygen behind a reflected SW
at M = 2.6, Ps = 3.4 MPa, and Ts = 1100 K. Figure 4a shows a record of ignition of the pure AI powder, and Fig. 4b and c shows the process initiated
by isopropylnitrate at L = 5 (Fig. 4b) and 50 m m
(Fig. 4c). Besides indicating ignition and steady aluminum combustion, these streak records suggest that
the center of ignition is at the site of initial placement of the initiating component.
CONCLUSION
Ignition of mixtures of metal powders and liquid hydrocarbon fuels in both pure oxygen and air is
studied experimentally. It is shown that the ignition
delays of the mixtures are determined by the liquid

phase, and the combustion times are determined primarily by the degree of dispersion of the solid phase.
This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Fundamental Research (Grant No. 96-0101886).
REFERENCES
I. A. A. Borisov, B. E. Gelfand, E. I. Timofeev,
et al., "Ignition of dust suspension behind shock
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and Detonations, AIAA (1984), pp. 332-339.
2. P. Volan'sld, "Ignition and combustion of organic
dusts in shock waves," Fiz. Goreniya Vzryva, 20,
No. 5, 29-35 (1984).
3. V. M. Boiko, V. V. Lotov, and A. N. Papyrin "Ignition of gas mixtures of metal powders in reflected
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Warsz~w (1985), pp. 188-195.
5. V. M. Boiko and A. N. Papyrin, "Ignition of magnesium particles behind reflected shock waves," in:
Chemical Physics of Combustion and Explosion.
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Russian], Chernogolovlm (1986), pp. 65-69.
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in Astronautics and Aeronautics, Vol. 132: Dynamics of Deflagrations and Reactive Systems: Heterogeneous Combustion, AIAA (1991), pp. 205-219.

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