(435e) Additive Manufacturing of Pyrotechnic Ignition Delays

Currently, boron/barium chromate, also known as T-10, is predominantly used in the field of energetics as a pyrotechnic ignition delay. It has shown to be a reliable ignition delay in providing a consistent burning rates at varying effective diameters while also being a gasless reaction. However, barium chromate has been confirmed to be highly carcinogenic. This research focused on the additive manufacturing of five possible replacements for boron/barium chromate as a pyrotechnic ignition delay: zirconium/strontium molybdate, zirconium/barium molybdate, boron/strontium molybdate, boron/barium molybdate, and titanium/silicon. Each formulation utilized a low weight percent methyl cellulose solution in water as a printing medium to provide fluid-like behavior with high viscosity. Viscosity was used to characterize printing formulations, and performance behavior was based on burning rate vs. effective diameter and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).