NOVEL KINETIC SCHEME FOR THE AMMONIUM-PERCHLORATE GAS-PHASE

A novel gas-phase kinetic scheme for ammonium perchlorate (AP) deflagration involving 22 reactions among 18 species is developed. The kinetic scheme is based on a study of the effect of initial conditions on the solution of the differential equations of adiabatic constant-pressure combustion kinetics. The existence of condensed-phase reaction products provides alternate pathways for the consumption of NH3 and HClO4 produced by gas-phase dissociation of AP. Theoretically obtained temperature-time profiles of the novel scheme do not change when the conventional reaction pathways are included, indicating that the novel scheme is a substantially faster rate process. The new scheme does not involve the species ClO, which has long been considered a critical component of the AP gas phase and which is included in the conventional reaction pathways. The new scheme develops faster overall reaction rates, steeper temperature-time profiles, and in a deflagration model will result in higher heat-transfer rates from gas phase to the condensed phase. © 1990 American Chemical Society.