Novel Imaging Diagnostics for Quantification of Metal Particle Burn Times From a Simple Experimental Configuration

The high-specific energy of metal particles and their carbon-free combustion make them attractive for a wide variety of propulsion and energy conversion applications. Knowledge of the particle burn time as a function of the initial diameter is key to modeling and optimizing the performance of such systems. Here, a novel and relatively simple experimental configuration is proposed to quantify burn time relations. A stream of aluminum particles is laser-ignited in atmospheric air, and high-speed video recordings are post-processed with semi-automated segmentation, sizing, and tracking methods. Measured burn time statistics are shown to agree with well-established literature correlations. These results demonstrate the viability of the proposed techniques for rapid characterization of metal particle combustion.