China's first experimental device for the suspension combustion of single-particle energetic materials has been completed, providing precise microscopic observation methods for research on explosives and other materials.
According to a report in Science and Technology Daily today, China's first experimental device for the suspension combustion of single-particle energetic materials has been completed and successfully passed the final acceptance review of the National Major Scientific Instrument Development Project . This means that China now possesses safe and precise experimental methods for studying the fundamental characteristics and scientific issues of energetic material combustion.
Energetic materials are substances that, under external stimuli, rapidly release a large amount of energy and perform work within a very short time, such as explosives, pyrotechnic agents, and rocket propellants . Combustion of energetic materials is commonly observed in rocket propulsion, gun and artillery projectile launches, and fireworks displays. Previously, academic research on the combustion of energetic materials was limited to the macroscopic level, focusing on the oxidation and combustion processes of numerous particle clusters, lacking experimental setups for the microscopic combustion of individual particles. However, single-particle combustion research can eliminate inter-particle interference and is fundamental to understanding the combustion of energetic materials under complex operating conditions.
The newly constructed experimental device achieved several technological breakthroughs, including non-destructive stable levitation, reliable ignition, and in-situ high-resolution observation of multiple parameters. The research team used a laser as a pair of "tweezers" to effortlessly pick up an energetic material, suspending this tiny sphere—smaller than the diameter of a human hair—stable in the air. They then used the energy contained in another laser beam to ignite it. Finally, the team installed various observation instruments on the device, providing researchers with comprehensive, multi-parameter data on the combustion of the sphere, temperature changes, and reaction products.
