Mechanism of Electro-Static Discharge (ESD) Sensitivity of Reactive Powders and Its Mitigation

Abstract

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) ignition of Mg, Al, and Ti powders is studied experimentally. Discharge energy is quantified by real time measurements of current and voltage; ignition behavior of powders is studied optically. A fraction of ESD energy transferred to powder is determined for different experimental configurations. It is shown that powder heating by ESD is adequately described considering Joule energy produced by the ESD current. Powder heating occurs adiabatically. For titanium powders, particles struck by ESD fuse together readily, reducing powder resistance and respectively reducing its ignition sensitivity. The thickness of the powder layer struck by ESD affects the ignition behavior of powders substantially. For very thin powder layers, particle fragmentation is consistently observed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 14, 2011
Accession Number
ADA545643

Entities

People

  • Edward L Dreizin
  • Ervin Beloni

Organizations

  • New Jersey Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Chemical Reactions
  • Combustion
  • Detection
  • Electrical Resistance
  • Electromagnetic Fields
  • Electron Microscopes
  • Electron Microscopy
  • Energy
  • Energy Transfer
  • Engineering
  • Fires
  • Heat Energy
  • Heat Transfer
  • Ignition Lag
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Particle Size

Readers

  • Aerosol Science/Aerosol Physics
  • Rocket Propulsion.
  • Thermal Physics or Thermal Science.