Synthesis of Aluminum, Teflon & Viton (ATV) Pyrotechnic Composition and its Applications

Abstract

Aluminum and Teflon based composition are widely used in IR decoy flares formulation because of their large energy output compared to other pyrotechnic mixture, low hygroscopicity, low dependence of burning rate on pressure and temperatures, and relatively high degree of safety in preparation. Viton (binder) is commonly added to AT mixture for easy processing by improving homogeneity of mixture and also protect aluminum against oxidation by moisture during storage. This work focuses on the synthesis characterization and thermal analysis of ATV composition. We have employed shock gel synthesis method using auto-clave at about 3500 kPa and 2000C with continuous stirring and continuous supply of liquid CO2. The main advantage of this procedure is that ATV composition energetic material can be synthesized without producing large volume of hazardous waste. The synthesized material has been characterized by XRD, TGA/DTA, FT-IR, SEM techniques. XRD results shows phase purity and crystalline nature of ATV. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the formation of ATV composition while, SEM analysis shows the nano-morphology of aluminum particles. Thermal endurance of synthesized ATV was investigated by TGA/DTA, which showed that ATV has good environmental stability and only gets oxidized in air at higher temperature range. In addition to exceptional energy output ATV composition has excellent environmental and thermal stability characteristics and good compatibility with most materials used in pyrotechnic ordnance.