The Mechanism and Dynamics of Explosive Combustion in Aerosol Fuels

Abstract

Our initial experiments explored the mechanism of vaporization/ionization in liquid and nitrobenzene aerosols using CO2 laser evaporation and 193 run excimer laser ionization. Those experiments were critical in characterizing the capabilities of our apparatus and in laying the framework for the behavior of non-reactive species in our two-laser design. The use of multi-photon ionization schemes with the excimer laser resulted in highly fragmented mass spectra, making the identification of reaction products difficult. Therefore, in preparation for studies of more reactive, high-energy materials, we developed a vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) laser, which ionizes molecules with very little fragmentation. We developed the VUV laser using funds from this grant. The VUV ionization technique makes our approach quite flexible and powerful in the elucidation of reaction mechanisms.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 2001
Accession Number
ADA398653

Entities

People

  • Roger Miller
  • Tomas Baer

Organizations

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Chemical Reaction Properties
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Chemistry
  • Combustion
  • Excimer Lasers
  • Explosives
  • High Energy
  • Ionization
  • Laser Beams
  • Lasers
  • Mass Spectra
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Materials
  • Reaction Mechanisms
  • Spectra
  • Spectrometry
  • Ultraviolet Lasers

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerosol Science/Aerosol Physics
  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy