Authors:

Gianna Marie Arnone

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About Paper:

Within the aerospace industry, current research aims to maximize energy output using high-energy-density materials (HEDMs) while also minimizing their sensitivities. Boron has been of interest due to it having the second highest gravimetric heating value, meaning optimizing boron combustion would result in a desirable higher energy output. However, boron is less commonly used as a fuel additive due to its propensity to incompletely combust and difficulty igniting. This study employs an electrochemical deposition process using a specialized air-free battery cell to properly coat boron with a thin layer of lithium, eliminating the concern of lithium's pyrophoricity. Lithium is chosen due to previous studies obtaining complete combustion and lower ignition temperatures when coated on boron. Once fabricated the boron was introduced into a protective polymer and then tested for combustion behavior. With the challenges of lithium handling there has been minimal research to characterize its effects on boron ignition and combustion. This study quantifies the enhancement of a thin lithium layer, explores the relative volumetric limitations, and determines Li-B heat of combustion to be 40.47 kJ/g and have a high combustion efficiency of 89.1% compared to pure boron. Using this new method of electrochemical deposition for boron coating, further research on boron combustion can be taken on pyrophoric materials. Keywords: Modified Fuels; Combustion; Electrochemical Deposition

Source:

Purdue University / 2024

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Co-authors:

Gianna Marie Arnone