Influence of ceramic particles as additive on the mechanical response and reactive properties of Al/PTFE reactive composites

Abstract

To investigate the influence of SiC and Al₂O₃ as additives on the mechanical response and reactive properties of Al/PTFE (aluminum/polytetrafluoroethylene) reactive composites, Al/SiC/PTFE and Al/Al₂O₃/PTFE samples with different component ratios were prepared for quasi-static compression and drop-weight tests. Al/Al₂O₃/PTFE samples with different particle sizes were prepared for simultaneous thermal analysis experiments. The stress–strain data, characteristic drop height and thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) curves of the composites were recorded. The results show that the addition of SiC and Al₂O₃ significantly enhance the strength of Al/PTFE. The enhancing effect of SiC on the composite strength was stronger than that of Al₂O₃. The addition of SiC and Al₂O₃ contribute toward reducing the sensitivity of the composites, where the reducing effect of Al₂O₃ on Al/PTFE sensitivity was weaker than that of SiC. Nanoscale Al₂O₃ reacts with PTFE to form AlF₃, and the reaction heat decreases dramatically with an increase in the Al₂O₃ particle size. The addition of nanoscale Al₂O₃ improves the reaction heat and energy density of the composites.