%0 Journal Article %A Houim, Ryan W. %A Boyd, Eric %A Kuo, Kenneth K. %D 2012 %I Begell House %K energetic materials, aluminum combustion, nickel-coated aluminum %N 1 %P 1-16 %R 10.1615/IntJEnergeticMaterialsChemProp.2012005110 %T IGNITION AND COMBUSTION OF NICKEL COATED AND UNCOATED ALUMINUM PARTICLES IN HOT POST-FLAME ENVIRONMENT %U https://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/17bbb47e377ce023,6d442c0c3a520410,6e60c87556f0d527.html %V 11 %X It is well known that aluminum particles require a high temperature to achieve ignition, often in excess of 1900 K. Lowering the ignition temperature of Al particles can increase the efficiency of solid propellant-based propulsion systems and aluminized explosives. Current methods to reduce the ignition temperature include both reducing the particle size to the nanoscale and/or applying coatings that aid ignition. In this work, an experimental study of ignition and combustion of isolated 5 wt.% Ni-coated and uncoated aluminum particles was conducted. Two particle sizes (nominally, 32 and 9 µm in diameter) were examined. The ignition and combustion properties of these aluminum particles were observed in the post-flame zone of a multidiffusion flat-flame burner at atmospheric pressure. The results showed that the applied nickel coating decreased the ignition temperature of the Al particles by an average of 750 K for 32-µm diameter particles and between 200 and 300 K for the 9-µm diameter particles. Measurements of particle burning times indicated that the application of the nickel coating does not affect the overall burning time of the particles. Thus, the application of nickel coatings on Al particles significantly decreases the ignition temperature while not affecting the overall combustion behavior. %8 2013-01-10