Effect of thermite on the infrared radiation performance of Mg₄Al₃/PTFE/Viton agents

ABSTRACT

To improve the infrared radiation performance of the Mg₄Al₃/PTFE/Viton agents (MATV), three higher energy magnesium thermite, Mg-Fe₂O₃, Mg-MnO₂ and Mg-MoO₃, were selected and added to the MATV. Thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction were used to explore the agents’ reaction processes, and infrared thermography was used to examine their combustion radiation characteristics. The results demonstrate that the thermite reaction starts after the MATV reaction and the reaction region is in the aerobic zone. All three thermites can accelerate the burning rate of MATV, and the effect is Mg-Fe₂O₃> Mg-MoO₃> Mg-MnO₂. Mg-Fe₂O₃ increased the infrared radiation intensity of MATV agents by 43.5% in the 2 ~ 5.5 μm band and 45.1% in the 8 ~ 14 μm band at 40% content. The effect of Mg-MoO₃ on radiation area enhancement is significant, with a 107% expansion of radiation area at 70% content. The addition of thermite improves the combustion performance and radiation performance of MATV, which offers good application prospects.

KEYWORDS:

• Combustion
• infrared radiation
• MATV
• pyrotechnics
• thermite

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.