Determining the Thermal Stability of Self-Reative Solid Materials That Melt before Decomposing

When determining the thermal stability of self-reactive solid materials that exhibit low temperature melts before decomposition, many traditional calorimetric and modeling approaches fail to accurately characterize the hazards associated with such samples.  A combination of small-scale experimental techniques including Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Accelerating Rate Calorimetry (ARC), and Thermal Activity Monitor (TAM) testing will be discussed as a solution for obtaining the required decomposition kinetics.  Using the kinetics obtained, the Frank-Kamenetskii, Semenov, or Thomas thermal explosion models can be used to predict safe storage conditions.  In order to illustrate the importance of properly characterizing these materials, an example with experimental data and calculations will be provided.