Overview of nanoenergetic material research at Los Alamos

Metastable Intermolecular Composite (MIC) materials are comprised of a mixture of oxidizer and fuel with particle sizes in the nanometer range. Characterizing their ignition and combustion is an ongoing effort at Los Alamos. In this paper we will present some recent studies at Los Alamos aimed at developing a better understanding of ignition and combustion of MIC materials. Ignition by impact has been studied using a laboratory gas gun using nano-aluminum (Al) and nano-tantalum (Ta) as the reducing agent and bismuth (III) oxide (Bi2O3) as the oxidant. As expected from the chemical potential, the Al containing composites gave higher peak pressures. It was found,. for the Al/Bi2O3 system, that impact velocity under observed conditions plays no role in the pressure output until approximately 100 m/s, below which speed, impact energy is insufficient to ignite the reaction. This makes the experiment more useful in evaluating the reactive performance. Replacing the atmosphere on impact with an inert gas reduced both the amount of light produced and the realized peak pressure. The combustion of low-density MIC powders has also been studied: To better understand the reaction mechanisms of burning MIC materials, dynamic electrical conductivity measurements have been performed on a MIC material for the first time. Simultaneous optical measurements of the wave front position have shown that the reaction and conduction fronts are coincident within 160 mu m.