Mesoscale Surface Combustion Modeling of Metalized Solid Fuel

Due to many known advantages of metalized energetic materials, metal particles such aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), boron (B), titanium (Ti), and magnesium (Mg) have been widely used in various combustion applications.Metals have high energy density compared to liquid jet fuels.For instance, JET-A has an energy density of 34.7 MJ/L, whereas 43.0 MJ/L for Mg and 137.8 MJ/L for B are noted.In addition, known advantages extend to the ease of storage and environmental friendliness when compared to hydrocarbon fuels.However, the combustion mechanism associated with metalized energetic substances is not well understood as the compositions of these complex mixtures chemically react at length scales that span submicrons to centimeters, making it difficult to thoroughly address the underlying thermochemical and thermomechanical behaviors during the reaction process.In particular, these substances behave differently, depending on their particle size, mechanical properties, and chemical reaction characteristics.The burning process of these metalized energetic substances takes place in three distinct