Eur. Phys. J. B 22, 71-77 (2001)
https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00011137

Cold ignition of combustion-like waves of cryo-chemical reactions in solids

¹ Institut Non Linéaire de Nice, 1361 Route des Lucioles, 06560 Valbonne, France
² Institute of Chemical Physics, RAS, Chernogolovka, Moscow Region, Russia

Corresponding author: ^a pumir@inln.cnrs.fr

Received: 26 January 2001
Revised: 3 May 2001
Published online: 15 July 2001

Abstract

Fronts of weakly exothermal chemical reaction may propagate in solids at very low temperatures (4K≤T≤77K) thanks to a quite unusual mechanism, involving a feedback between the heat produced by the reaction and the disruption of the solid matrix. In this class of phenomena, the reaction may be induced by mechanical constraints, without a large elevation of temperature. On the basis of a simple phenomenological model, we investigate ignition of a propagating front by initially (i) disrupting a localized zone of the solid matrix, or by (ii) introducing a temperature jump, leading to a thermal shock with strong temperature gradients. In particular, we show that reaction can be initiated by disrupting only a very small fraction of the sample. Applications to the problem of initiation of solid explosives by friction or shocks is briefly discussed.