A comparative study on the mechanical and reactive behavior of three fluorine-containing thermites
Abstract
Thermite serves as a kind of representative energetic material, which is extensively applied in the civil and military fields. In this paper, PTFE/Al/Fe2O3, PTFE/Al/MnO2 and PTFE/Al/MoO3, solid fluorine-containing thermite with different PTFE content, were successfully fabricated by referring to the traditional thermite and adding PTFE as a binder or matrix. Quasi-static compression tests were performed to investigate the mechanical and reactive behavior of fluorine-containing thermite. SEM and XRD were employed to analyze and characterize the energetic composites and reaction residuals. The results show that all types of fluorine-containing thermite exhibited different mechanical behavior. PTFE/Al/MnO2 exhibited the lowest yield strength and strain hardening modulus, but the highest compressive strength and toughness. With the increase of PTFE content, the strength of fluorine-containing thermite improved. No reaction occurred when the PTFE content was 60 vol%, while fluorine-containing thermite with a PTFE content of 80 vol% experienced a severe exothermic reaction under quasi-static compression. The ignition of PTFE/Al/MoO3 and PTFE/Al/Fe2O3 actually attributed to the reaction of Al and PTFE, and the reaction between Al and Fe2O3 or MoO3 was not excited due to the insufficient input energy. The thermite reaction between Al and MnO2, as well as the reaction of MnO2 and PTFE, was induced because PTFE/Al/MnO2 possessed excellent ductility and absorbed the most energy during compression, accompanied with the production of Mn and MnF2.