Finite-element simulation of the differential thermal analysis response to ignition of a pyrotechnic composition

Abstract

A two-dimensional finite-element code for heat-transfer analysis has been used to simulate the heating, in a typical differential thermal analysis (DTA) instrument, of a sample that undergoes a strongly exothermic reaction, e.g. a pyrotechnic delay composition. The parameters required for the simulation, especially values for thermal resistances at interfaces, have been related to those of real DTA instruments by comparison of simulations with the results of simple calibration experiments.

The effects on the DTA response of varying the thermal conductivity of the sample and the possibility of extracting kinetic information from the DTA response are discussed.