Effect of body material and temperature variation on the performance of the time delay pyrotechnic compositions

Abstract

Significance of body material and temperature variation on burning time and burning rate of Si/PbO/Pb3O4/FG and B/BaCrO4/FG pyrotechnic delay compositions were experimentally studied. Brass and stainless steel were used as delay body materials. High resolution oscilloscope and a customized chronometer were simultaneously used for the measurement of burning time and burning rate. Results reveal that brass material with controlled column dimensions reduced the variation in burning time of Si/PbO/Pb3O4/FG delay mixture from 7.43% to 4.17% and that of B/BaCrO4/FG mixture from 16.83% to 9.39%. Similarly the variation in burning rate was reduced from 7.57% to 4.12% and from 17% to 9.69% for Si/PbO/Pb3O4/FG and B/BaCrO4/FG mixtures respectively. Si/PbO/Pb3O4/FG delay mixture was also subjected to temperature ranging from −54 °C up to +100 °C. The burning rate of this composition varied linearly with temperature. Burning rate increased from 28.01 mm/s to 34.38 mm/s when the temperature was varied from −54 °C to +100 °C. Keywords: Body material, Delay composition, Temperature variation, Burning rate