(646d) Selection of Pyrotechnic Formulations Based On Data Generated By Thermochemical and Thermodynamic Software Packages (INVITED)

Thermodynamic and thermochemical analyses are a very important aspect of the selection phase for the development of new energetic formulations as they can greatly enhance trial and error explorations in the lab.  There are several commercially available software packages, including: Cheetah, PEP Code, NASA_Lewis code, FCT, and HSC Chemistry, but each of them has a number of limitations regarding adequate predictability of the fundamental properties of complex reactive mixtures. This presentation will focus on a comparative study of several binary, ternary and quaternary pyrotechnic mixtures with and without gas generation.

The specific attention will be on condensed phase systems consisting of Al, B, and Si as fuels and oxides, iodates and nitrates as oxidizers, in addition to some other materials of interest.   The presentation will summarize the pros and cons of each software package for its potential use for the prediction of thermodynamic properties of condensed phase reactive systems in an array of pyrotechnic applications.