Combustion wave in a two-layer solid fuel system

•Model of combustion wave propagation in two-layered thermally coupled system is analyzed.•Parametric study to find out affect of parameters on the process is undertaken.•The existence of two regimes of combustion wave propagation is shown.•It is revealed that superadiabatic temperatures can occur in the acceptor layer.•The importance of the results for the combustion synthesis is discussed. We consider the model describing propagation of a combustion wave in a system of two layers of different exothermic reacting materials under conditions of thermal contact between them through a common surface. This system is directly related to synthesis of advanced materials via the Self-propagating High temperature Synthesis technology when one of the reactants serves as a heat source (donor layer) for the other reacting material (acceptor layer) and facilitates the chemical reaction in the latter. The reaction sheet approximation is used and the parametric study of the boundaries of existence and characteristics of combustion waves in the system of layers is undertaken. The parameters of the process are identified which allow to achieve significantly superadiabatic peak temperatures of combustion in the acceptor layer.