Chemical Initiation of FAE Clouds

It is believed that the second-event system in FAE devices can be eliminated by development of a process in which very rapid fuel dispersion and simultaneous combustion are initiated by a single event. According to this concept, a central explosive charge would drive a highly reactive chemical agent such as chlorine trifluoride (CTF) into a surround of hydrocarbon fuel, with the effect that the fuel would be explosively dispersed and burned in the ambient air, and a FAE blast generated. Laboratory research is described in which small slugs of CTF and BTF (bromine trifluoride) were driven pneumatically into Diesel oil. The ensuing event was diagnosed by high speed motion pictures and blast gages. An FAE effect was reproducibly observed with BTF. With CTF it was found that the agent-fuel reaction is so rapid that a counterforce develops at the interface of the liquids and prevents thorough mixing and reaction. In larger-scale field tests that are planned, CTF will be explosively driven into Diesel oil, thus eliminating this hindrance. It is considered that proof of concept has been demonstrated in the sense that a blast wave has been produced by chemical initiation of a fuel-air-mixture. The concept depends on rapid fuel dispersal accompanied by combustion. These aspects of the concept are scale-dependent.