Kinetics deconvolution study of multi-component pyrotechnics

This study reports an experimental investigation into the chemical kinetics of several commercial pyrotechnic compositions. A differential scanning calorimeter was utilized to elucidate the thermo-kinetic characteristics of five multicomponent pyrotechnic compositions. The multicomponent nature of practical pyrotechnics results in a complex interaction between the various components as well as condensed phase reactions. The thermo-kinetic study was carried out to approximate the heating experienced by the pyrotechnics before the combustion zone. The chemical kinetic parameters such as overall activation energy (E-alpha) and pre-exponential factor (A) corresponding to these reactions were estimated using Friedman and Starink method. The large variation in E-alpha attributed to multiple parallel reactions was addressed through the application of deconvolution techniques utilizing the Frazer-Suzuki function as well as nonlinear mechanistic modelling. The observations from the DSC data and the comparison between the deconvolution techniques provided an insight into the phenomenology of the combustion process of energetic pyrotechnics.