Ignition delays, heats of combustion, and reaction rates of aluminum alkyl derivatives used as ignition and combustion enhancers for supersonic combustion

The subject of this paper is the design of supersonic combustors which will be required in order to achieve the needed reaction rates in a reasonable sized combustor. A fuel additive approach, which is the focus of this research, is the use of pyrophorics to shorten the ignition delay time and to increase the energy density of the fuel. Pyrophoric organometallic compounds may also provide an ignition source and flame stabilization mechanism within the combustor, thus permitting use of hydrocarbon fuels in supersonic combustion systems. Triethylaluminum (TEA) and trimethylaluminum (TMA) were suggested for this application due to their high energy density and reactivity. The objective here is to provide comparative data for the ignition quality, the energy content, and the reaction rates of several different adducts of both TEA and TMA. The results of the experiments indicate the aluminum alkyls and their more stable derivatives reduce the ignition delay and total reaction time to JP-10 jet fuel. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of ignition delay and total reaction time of the blends of the adducts are significantly lower than in neat JP-10.