Oscillating‐to‐Continuous Combustion Transition in Mesoparticle Composites Through Manipulation of Heat Feedback

In this study, free‐standing composites consisting of 90 wt% nanoenergetic mesoparticles are fabricated and their combustion characteristics are investigated. The findings reveal that the integrity of the mesoparticles remains intact during the printing process and a reduction in sintering is observed for the composite of mesoparticles compared to the physical mixture. However, the composite of mesoparticles exhibits noncontinuous and oscillating propagation behavior at a steady frequency of ≈5 Hz. This is attributed to insufficient heat feedback from the flame to the unburnt material. To address this issue, carbon fiber (C.F.) is introduced into the composite to enhance heat feedback to the reaction front by intercepting hot agglomerates near the burning surface. Incorporating C.F. leads to steady propagation of the composite. Agglomerate residence time and characteristic heat transfer time analysis near the burning surface indicate that while the composite without C.F. has agglomerate residence time on the same order of magnitude as the characteristic heat transfer time, the composite with C.F. has significantly increased overall agglomerate residence time compared to the characteristic heat transfer time. This confirms the enhanced heat feedback through C.F. inclusion. This study demonstrates the crucial role of heat feedback in the combustion behavior of energetic composites. Mesoparticle composites demonstrate oscillating propagation, at a steady frequency. The behavior is attributed to insufficient heat feedback from the flame to the unburnt material due to the high reactivity. Inclusion of carbon fiber results in continuous propagation by intercepting hot agglomerates near burning surface.