On the Modeling of the Copper Block Combustion Front Quenching Technique to Investigate Solid-Solid Self-Propagating High-Temperature Reactions

The technique which makes use of a wedge-shaped cut in a copper block to investigate the mechanism of reaction and structure formation during solid-solid self-propagating high-temperature reactions is simulated through a novel two-dimensional model. The latter one describes the combustion front which starts to propagate through the reacting mixture upon ignition and travels toward the apex of the wedge until reaction stoppage occurs. When model predictions as well as experimental results are taken into account, it is demonstrated that a one-dimensional description of the copper block front quenching technique should be avoided. By comparison of the two-dimensional model proposed in this work with the corresponding models of an adiabatic cylindrical pellet as well as a cylindrical pellet inside a copper block, it is shown that all systems display periods characterized by the same front propagation velocity along the sample axis. Consequently, static as well as dynamic structural macrokinetics investigation may be conducted simultaneously using the copper block front quenching technique.