Dual-fuel addition for enhancing energy release performance of PTFE/Al/Si ternary thermites

The employment of additional components has proven to be an effective method to enhance the energy release performance of thermites. In this article, the energy release performance of the PTFE/Al/Si (PAS) ternary thermites with different weight ratios of the PTFE/Si (PS) system (10, 30, 50, 70, and 90 wt.%), in addition to binary PTFE/Al (PA) and PS system, is systematically evaluated. The energy release characteristics of the PAS thermites, including heat of reaction, self-propagating combustion performance, ignition delay time, and pressure performance of the PAS ternary thermites, were assessed. The anaerobic reaction dynamics of the thermites are investigated by a thermal gravimetric calorimeter and differential scanning calorimetry instrument with a quadrupole mass spectrometer (TG-DSC-QMS). The average burning rate, peak pressure, and pressurization rate of the PAS thermites (30 wt.% PS) are 1.45, 1.26, and 1.96 times higher than those of the PA system, respectively. The results demonstrate that adding Si fuel into the PA system can effectively adjust and enhance the energy performance of the thermites.