Effect of CuO powder on the combustion and micro-explosion of Mg and Al12Mg17 particles

Abstract In this paper, the effects of CuO powder on the combustion and micro-explosion characteristics of Mg and Al12Mg17 were studied. A laser was used to ignite particles and a high-speed micro-camera was used to record the particle ignition, flame propagation, combustion and particle changes before and after micro-explosion. Moreover, emission spectra during combustion and combustion products were analysed. The results show that the addition of CuO contributes to the micro-explosion of Mg particles during combustion, but it is not conducive to the micro-explosion of Al12Mg17 particles. Meanwhile, whether Al12Mg17 particles or Al12Mg17/CuO particles, the radiation peaks during combustion mainly correspond to Mg or MgO, which means that the addition of CuO cannot promote the gas phase combustion of Al in Al12Mg17.