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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Facile Preparation of Ultrafine Aluminum Hydroxide Particles with or without Mesoporous MCM-41 in Ambient Environments
Published on: May 11, 2017
Imaging Aluminum Particles in Solid-Propellant Flames Using 5 kHz LIF of Al Atoms
Gautier Vilmart1, Nelly Dorval2, Robin Devillers3
1Département de Physique, Instrumentation, Environnement et Espace, ONERA, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91123 Palaiseau, France. gautier.vilmart@onera.fr.
Abstract:
Laser-induced fluorescence imaging of aluminum atoms (Al-PLIF) is used to analyze the spatio-temporal behavior of aluminized solid propellant combustion. Using alternating LIF and chemiluminescence emission images of the particles in the gaseous and liquid phase evolving close to and far above the dynamically varying propellant surface, sequences of images were recorded and analyzed. The good sensitivity achieved enabled us to track the dynamics of the flame in the vicinity of particles detected all along the flame extension and up to 1.5 MPa. Analysis of wide-field images enabled droplet velocity measurements due to the high LIF sampling rate (5 kHz). The observed typical plume structures were in good agreement with alumina-formation prediction and previous shadowgraphy visualization. High-resolution sequences of images showed gaseous distribution behavior around the molten particles. The Al vapor phase was thus found to extend between 3 and 6.5 radii around the particles. Particle detachment dynamics were captured just above the propellant surface.
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