Traian Rotariu

Temperature measurements of magnesium- and aluminum-based flares

Experimental researches were performed in order to determine the combustion temperatures and the visible and infrared screening performances of two pyrotechnic compositions used in decoy flare systems. Morphostructural and morphochemical analyses of the combustion solid products have been correlated with the combustion temperature. For the experimental studies, visible and infrared thermography have been employed, together with dedicated software. The comparative measurements indicated that the thermovision camera enables the acquisition of more accurate results versus the optical pyrometer in terms of data processing, and that the aluminum/polyhalogenated compounds–compositions present visible and infrared screening performances superior to those based on magnesium/polyhalogenated compounds.

Thermal and spectroscopic measurements of some energetic compositions and corresponding aerosols obtained

Studies on specific thermochemical processes contribute to the understanding of combustion processes and, meanwhile, to the calculus of the safety characteristics and the systems design parameters. In this paper, five different compositions have been studied through TGA and DTA. The reaction rate constants and the activation energies have been determined. Also, the solid combustion products obtained have been evaluated through SEM, EDX, and XPS. Nonisothermal kinetic analyses performed yield results that prove an important difference among the first fire compositions, where the activation energies are considerable, up to 400 kJ/mol, in comparison with the activation energies of the flare compositions, which are lower, 150–250 kJ/mol.

Novel formulations of ballistic gelatin. 1. Rheological properties

Ballistic gelatin is the simulant of the human body during field tests in forensics and other related fields, due to its physical and mechanical similarities to human trunk and organs. Since the ballistic gelatin used in present has important issues to overcome, an alternative approach is the use of gelatin-polymer composites, where a key factor is the insertion of biocompatible materials, which replicate accurately the human tissues. In order to be able to obtain an improved material in terms of mechanical performances by an easy industrial-scale technology, before the verification of the ballistic parameters by shooting in agreement with military standards, one of the best and cheapest solutions is to perform a thorough check of their rheological properties, in standard conditions.