Effect of Silicon Contents on Different Oxidizers Used in Delay Composition

Study was undertaken on the mass consumption and burning time of ranges of Si/Pb3O4/FG and Si/PbO/FG pyrotechnic delay compositions by varying Silicon Content. Silicon is a fuel; PbO and Pb3O4 are oxidizers whereas Fish Glue is a binder. The mass consumption and burning time of both these compositions was determined with different silicon contents. The Silicon content was varied from 5 wt% to 55 wt% for Si/Pb3O4/FG delay mixture, whereas for Si/PbO/FG delay composition the Silicon content was varied from 5 wt% to 40 wt%. The mass consumption of Si/Pb3O4/FG composition increases and burning time decreases with increase in fuel content until the maximum mass consumption of 1.080 mg/ms and minimum burning time of 300 ms were recorded at 35 wt. % Silicon Content. Similarly, the mass consumption of Si/PbO/FG delay composition also increases and burning time decreases with increase in Silicon content buy beyond 15 wt% Silicon content the delay mixture shows unpredictable burning propagation behavior. Study was also conducted on the effect of fast red lead delay mixture as first fire charge to improve the burning performance of Si/PbO/FG delay compositions.

Azizullah Khan, Abdul Qadeer Malik and Zulfiqar H. Lodhi