Energetics of Shock-Induced Reactions in Non-Explosive Mixtures

Many chemical reactions are so highly exothermic that they produce energies which, on a volume and weight basis, are comparable to or exceed those produced by TNT. The Al/oxidizer (the basis of thermite) and Ti/C reactions are two good examples. Although producing much heat, this class of thermitic reaction produces only solid reaction products and, therefore, can do little useful work. More recently shocked, porous mixtures of thermitic-type materials and certain volatile solids have shown a highly dynamic character when reacted under shock conditions. This signifies the evolution of product gases, but, as yet, the critical processes are poorly understood. In Phase I, we will begin to model the behavior of these mixtures based on a new physical model of the initial shocked state and the fundamental reaction processes. Various reaction rates will be derived from statistical and quantum mechanical theories. Model development will be completed in Phase II, incorporated into a hydrodynamics code, and validated against existing experimental data.